THE CITRUS INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO AFTER NAFTA

Abstract

The United States and Mexico are two of the largest citrus producing and consuming regions in the world. As such, implementation of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was likely to have major implications for the citrus industries of these two countries. The United States protected its processed orange industry with a sizeable tariff on imported orange juice. The United States used smaller, seasonally adjusted tariffs on imported fresh citrus. Mexico imposed a fiat ad valorem tariff of 20 percent on most fresh and processed citrus products. With the prospect of these tariffs being eliminated under NAFTA, concern was expressed by citrus producers in both countries.