On July 28, Frutas de Chile reported (in Spanish) that its president, Iván Marambio, participated in a meeting led by the Chilean Foreign Minister to review the state of tariff negotiations with the United States following the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) recent action setting a 12.5% tariff on Chilean exports.
The USTR action, taken under Section 301 for economies determined to have failed to impose or effectively enforce bans on goods produced with forced labor, exempts an extensive list of products regardless of origin. Among fresh citrus, the exemption covers fresh oranges and limes. Mandarins, grapefruit and lemons are not included in the exemption and remain subject to the applicable country rate.
Marambio highlighted that Chile has maintained the exclusion of oranges from the tariffs and that the sector will continue providing technical and commercial information to the government to expand the number of exempted products. He characterized Chilean fresh fruit as complementary to U.S. domestic production, noting that Chilean fresh fruit exports to the U.S. support seasonal employment and contribute to the U.S. economy.
Frutas de Chile reaffirmed its intent to continue working with the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Agriculture, and other agencies toward a bilateral negotiation with the U.S. to review the measure.
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