Mexico's Secretariat of Economy announced on August 18 that the U.S. Department of Commerce preliminarily determined that Mexican winter strawberries are sold below normal value, with antidumping duties ranging from 3.37% to 5.28% for exporters.
The case originated on December 31, 2025, when Florida producers petitioned for an investigation into Mexican imports. The petition included two criteria that Mexico's Secretariat of Economy contests: treating winter strawberries as a product separate from other strawberries, and assessing injury against a regional eastern U.S. market rather than the national market. The International Trade Commission (ITC) concluded in a preliminary March report that there was no basis for treating winter strawberries as a distinct product or for recognizing a separate regional market, yet the Department of Commerce retained both criteria in its ruling. The Mexican agency considers this application distorts the nature of the investigation and warned that the case could set a precedent for other Mexican fruit and vegetable exports.
Duties vary by company: Driscoll's faces the highest rate at 5.28%; Mainland Farms, 3.37%; and remaining exporters, a weighted average rate of 4.83%. The investigation encompasses a supply chain of nearly 5,000 producers, 97% of whom farm plots of 10 hectares or less, and generates approximately 151,000 permanent and temporary jobs, according to the Secretariat of Economy. In 2025, Mexico exported 263,000 tonnes of strawberries to the United States with a value of $1 billion. Exported volume in the winter season rose from 188,000 tonnes in 2022-2023 to 200,000 in 2024-2025, according to El Universal. The investigation covers strawberries harvested or imported between November 1 and March 31.
The final determination will proceed on two tracks: the Department of Commerce will rule on the existence of dumping and the ITC on injury to the U.S. industry, with a resolution expected in early 2027, according to the Secretariat of Economy. If both determinations are affirmative, duties will be set on a permanent basis.
This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.