SHAFFE Urges Trump To Avoid Fruit Tariffs

The Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters (SHAFFE), a coalition representing major fruit production and export associations from the Southern Hemisphere, has sent an open letter to President Donald Trump, voicing “significant concern” over the impact of the recently announced tariffs on fresh fruit imports into the United States.

The letter, dated April 14, claims that Trump’s “reciprocal tariff” policy presents a major threat to the stability of global supply chains and the affordability of healthy food in the United States. SHAFFE, whose members include top fruit associations from Australia, Brazil, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, Uruguay and Zimbabwe, believes that these tariffs will result in higher prices for consumers, reduced access to healthy produce and significant disruptions to long-standing trade relationships.

“Fresh fruits are not a discretionary item,” the letter states, but “an essential element of healthy diets and an important source of fibre, vitamins and minerals.” SHAFFE warns that the tariffs are estimated to cost each U.S. household as much as $5,000 per year and worsen already alarming trends in fruit consumption and public health.

The letter also notes the mutual economic benefits of open trade in fresh produce, particularly counter-seasonal imports that help U.S. retailers keep their shelves stocked throughout the year. SHAFFE concluded its letter with a direct appeal to President Trump to exempt fresh fruits from any new tariffs or other measures to avoid “undue and lasting harm to growers, businesses, and consumers, in the United States of America and beyond.”

The full text of the letter follows below:

Images: Unsplash (main image), SHAFFE (body images)