What the tomato teaches us about free trade

Most tomatoes from Mexico will face a 218 tariff effective July 14, the US Department of Commerce said recently. Ironically, the “love apple” may be the perfect illustration of how trade contributes to economic prosperity — and of the folly of President Donald Trump's protectionist policies.

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First and foremost, the tomato trade gives Americans access to wintertime produce. While fresh US tomatoes are abundant and delicious in the summer, most states simply can't produce the fussy fruit on a year-round basis (Florida is the primary exception here, and I'll return to it shortly.) Before agricultural trade boomed under the North American Free Trade Agreement, US consumers had to pay significantly more for a tomato in December or January than in August or September. The growth of trade has not only slowed tomato inflation, it’s also made supply and prices more stable.

Second, trade has allowed the US and its partners to focus on their comparative advantages, just as the British economist David Ricardo famously predicted. In Mexico, tomatoes and other crops thrive thanks to year-round warm and arid conditions, as well as access to low-cost labor. Meanwhile, Mexican growers have perfected the use of greenhouses — often erected with government subsidies, to the chagrin of US competitors — to efficiently produce tasty tomatoes without all the pesticides. While Florida has a proud winter tomato-growing tradition, its comparatively humid weather makes it a haven for pests and fungal diseases. And the prevalence of hurricanes makes it significantly less hospitable to greenhouses.