U.S. Representative Austin Scott led a bipartisan group of 79 members of the U.S. House of Representatives in sending a letter to United States Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, emphasizing the need for fair-trade measures for the U.S. specialty crop industry, according to a May 12 statement.
The issue is significant because current Mexican trade practices have brought products into American markets that are held to lower production standards than those required of American farmers, Scott said. The upcoming review process for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) presents an opportunity to address these concerns and support domestic agriculture.
“America’s growers and producers are the best in the world. Current Mexican trade practices have flooded our markets with products that are held to a lower production standard than those produced here by American farmers. The USMCA review process gives us an opportunity to reaffirm and recommit our support for domestic agriculture and the American farmer by forcing Mexico to play by the same rules if they want to import to the United States,” said Rep. Scott.
The letter urges action from the Administration as unfairly traded imports from Mexico continue affecting U.S. growers, creating what lawmakers describe as a significant competitive disadvantage for American producers. It calls for improved trade measures during the 2026 USMCA review process aimed at protecting America’s fruit, vegetable, and certain tree nut industries while ensuring continued access to domestically grown food.
In their letter, members wrote: “Without measures to restore competitive balance, specialty crop production will increasingly move to foreign countries. We urge you to evaluate trade actions that can safeguard U.S. growers from unfair pressures from Mexico. This work is essential to maintaining U.S. competitiveness in the specialty crop sector and to ensuring Americans continue to have access to high-quality, domestically grown food—an issue fundamental to our national security.”
Numerous state, regional, and national organizations have endorsed this initiative including groups such as American Farm Bureau Federation; Alabama Farmers Federation; California Table Grape Commission; Florida Blueberry Growers Association; Florida Farm Bureau Federation; Georgia Agribusiness Council; Georgia Blueberry Commission; Michigan Vegetable Council; National Onion Association; Texas Pecan Growers Association among others.
Austin Scott is currently serving in Congress representing Georgia’s 8th district after replacing Jim Marshall in 2011,according to Ballotpedia.
