Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock joined a bipartisan letter led by Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer urging him to establish safeguards to protect U.S. specialty crop growers from unfair international pressures

Senator Warnock is a strong advocate for Georgia's agriculture industry and has pushed for bipartisan solutions to lower trade barriers for Georgia producers

Georgia is a leading producer of specialty crops-including blueberries, Vidalia onions, pecans, and peaches

USMCA is critical to American agriculture and the global competitiveness of Georgia producers

Senator Reverend Warnock, colleagues: "Without measures to restore competitive balance, specialty crop production will increasingly move to foreign countries"

Washington, D.C. - Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a key member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, joined a bipartisan coalition of senators in sending a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, calling for measures to restore a more competitive trade balance for U.S. specialty crops with Mexico. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) also signed onto the letter.

"Without measures to restore competitive balance, specialty crop production will increasingly move to foreign countries," wrote the senators. "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 ensuring Americans continue to have access to high-quality, domestically grown food, which is fundamental to our national security."

In the letter, the senators push for alleviating unsustainable price pressures on U.S. specialty crop producers caused by an increasing volume of foreign products unfairly flooding U.S. markets while U.S. crops are reaching their peak in-season period. The letter comes as Ambassador Greer works to reauthorize the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Senator Warnock has been a vocal proponent of practical solutions to alleviate unnecessary strain on Georgia's farmers imposed by oversaturated international markets and unfair trade policies. In April, Senator Warnock led a bipartisan letter urging Ambassador Greer to ensure the USMCA is improved to adequately support domestic producers and maintain strong market access for American farmers and ranchers.

This letter comes as the Administration is nearing the July 1 mandatory USMCA six-year review. While USMCA-like any trade agreement-can be improved, pulling out of the trilateral USMCA would disrupt supply chains and drive-up costs for Georgia families already facing higher prices because of the Trump administration's tariff policy.

The letter is endorsed by several of Georgia's agricultural stakeholders, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, Georgia Agribusiness Council, Georgia Berry Exchange, Georgia Blueberry Commission, Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, Georgia Farm Bureau, Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, Georgia Green Industry Association, Georgia Pecan Growers Association, Georgia Watermelon Association, National Onion Association, National Pecan Federation, and the Southeastern Pecan Growers Association.

A copy of the letter can be found HERE and text is below.

"Dear Ambassador Greer,"

"The U.S. specialty crop industry encompasses a large variety of commodities across 220,000 farms, each with distinct supply and demand conditions. As you know, many American growers of fruit, vegetable, and certain tree nut commodities and products are under unsustainable pressure from growing volumes of products unfairly entering U.S. markets. These imports flood the U.S. market, often at the same time U.S. crops are reaching their peak in-season period, with prices at or below the cost of production for U.S. producers. Additionally, many of these commodities are seasonal and/or perishable, creating unique challenges for identifying markets as these products must be harvested, marketed, and consumed within a limited window of time. Other specialty crops that are marketed year-round are forced to suffer the consequences over the course of the entire year. As you review the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), we look forward to engaging with you to implement trade measures that will allow our specialty crop producers to continue to feed the nation and remain viable against unfair foreign competition. We urge you to consider the significant strain Mexico continues to place on the U.S. specialty crop industry."

"Fresh fruit and vegetable imports from Mexico have increased by more than 550 percent since 2001, driven by fundamental cost and regulatory advantages."

"Mexican producers operate with significantly lower labor and production expenses, where agricultural wages are about one-tenth of U.S. levels, while U.S. growers depend heavily on the higher-cost H-2A program for seasonal labor. Because labor accounts for roughly half of total production and harvest expenses in this industry, these disparities create a substantial competitive gap. Mexican farms also cut corners by avoiding many of the regulatory requirements imposed by U.S agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Labor, further reinforcing their cost of production advantage."

"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 ensuring Americans continue to have access to high-quality, domestically grown food, which is fundamental to our national security."

"Many specialty crop organizations and representatives recently submitted comments to the Office of the United States Trade Representative for consideration under Docket ID: USTR-2025-0004, titled 'Request for Comments on the Operation of the Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada.' We encourage you to prioritize the evaluation of these comments, and we emphasize the importance of these commodity industries' submissions. We appreciate your consideration of our growers' concerns, your review of the companion letter sent from 79 members of the U.S. House of Representatives on May 12, 2026 regarding this matter, and look forward to continued collaboration as the 2026 USMCA review process moves forward."

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