TRADE UPDATE

Food & Agriculture
July 22, 2025

By Kristy Goodfellow, Vice President of Trade and Industry Affairs, Ameya Khanapurkar, Project and Policy Coordinator, Ellen McDonough, CRA Trade Intern, and Aliza Hart, CRA Communications Intern

HIGHLIGHTS

• Tariffs and Bilateral Negotiations:
  • President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Indonesia, the 11th largest export market of U.S. agricultural exports.
  • The European Union delayed implementing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports until early August.
  • Despite intense lobbying and industry pushback, the Department of Commerce withdrew from the agreement suspending antidumping duties on fresh tomatoes from Mexico on July 14.
• USDA:
  • The Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service led a trade mission to the Dominican Republic July 13-17.
• USTR:
  • The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced a Section 301 Investigation on Brazil’s trading practices.
  • On Thursday, Trump nominated Julie Callahan to be USTR’s Chief Agricultural Negotiator.
  • USTR Jamieson Greer delivered the keynote address at the Reindustrialize Summit, outlining the Trump administration’s approach and actions toward rebuilding the U.S. industrial base.

“Mexican tomatoes will continue to be exported to the United States because the United States has a demand that it cannot meet with any other tomatoes produced anywhere else in the world.”

—Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at a July 16 press conference

Tariffs and Bilateral Negotiations

US-INDONESIA

• In a Truth Social post on July 15, President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Indonesia. According to the post, U.S. exports to Indonesia will not face tariff or non-tariff barriers, while Indonesian exports will face a 19% tariff, down from the 32% tariff rate set the previous week by the Trump administration.
• Additionally, Indonesia has committed to importing more than $4.5 billion in U.S. ag products, a historic move for a country notably focused on self-sufficiency in food supply chains.
• According to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, Indonesia is the 11^th largest export market for U.S. agricultural products, despite the country’s existing tariff and nontariff barriers. Top agricultural exports to Indonesia are soybeans, distillers grain, and animal feed.

US-EU

• On July 14, EU ministers met to discuss Trump’s planned 30% tariffs scheduled for August 1^st on all European Union imports.
• Although the EU had countermeasures on U.S. goods scheduled for July 15, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted the regional bloc would delay implementing retaliatory tariffs until August to allow more time to reach an agreement.
• Despite remaining committed to continued negotiations, EU trade official Maroš Šefčovič alluded to finding new markets for trade outside of the U.S. and recently reached a political agreement on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Indonesia.
• In 2024, the United States exported over $370 billion of goods to the EU.

TOMATO SUSPENSION AGREEMENT ENDS

• On July 14, the Department of Commerce officially withdrew from the 2019 Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on fresh tomatoes from Mexico.
• Mexican tomato imports will now be charged a 17.09% antidumping duty, a reduction from the proposed antidumping rate of 21% in April.
• The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas released a statement urging the administration to negotiate a new agreement with the Mexican government, citing concerns over higher produce prices and reduced consumer selection.
• In contrast, the Florida Tomato Exchange and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick praised the administration for protecting American farmers.

USDA

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TRADE MISSION

• USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service led a trade mission to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, July 13-17.
• The Dominican Republic is the fourth-largest market for U.S. agricultural exports in the Western Hemisphere, with the United States exporting nearly $2.2 billion in agricultural products in 2024 and supplying 44% of the country’s agricultural imports.
• The trade mission’s goal was to strengthen relations and increase key U.S. agricultural exports such as fruit and dairy products.

USTR

USTR SECTION 301 INVESTIGATION ON BRAZIL TRADING PRACTICES

• On July 15, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative initiated a Section 301 investigation of unfair trade practices in Brazil.
• According to the announcement, the investigation is related to a variety of actions including digital trade and electronic payment services, preferential tariffs, anti-corruption enforcement, intellectual property protection, ethanol market access, and deforestation.
• According to USTR, the U.S. had a $7.4 billion goods trade surplus with Brazil in 2024.
• The U.S. exported approximately $907 million worth of agricultural products to Brazil in 2024.
• USTR will hold a hearing on this investigation on September 3, 2025.

CALLAHAN NOMINATED AS USTR CHIEF AGRICULTURAL NEGOTIATOR

• On Thursday, Trump nominated Julie Callahan as USTR’s Chief Agricultural Negotiator.
• Julie Callahan previously served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Agricultural Affairs and Commodity Policy and held leadership positions at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before joining USTR.

GREER DELIVERS KEYNOTE AT REINDUSTRIALIZE SUMMIT

• On June 16, USTR Jamieson Greer outlined the Trump administration’s approach to reindustrializing, arguing that reshoring manufacturing is critical to strengthen economic foundations, national security, and innovation.
• Greer cited the Section 301 investigation on shipbuilding and Trump’s tariff letters as tools to promote domestic industry and rebalance trade.