NCW — U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier called on national trade and commerce leaders to do what they can to lift tariffs set by India on U.S. apples, as it is impacting farmers in the district she represents, including Chelan County.
Earlier this month, Schrier, along with Sen. Maria Cantwell, led the Washington state congressional delegation of nine representatives to request the help of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, according to a press release.
“The damage inflicted by the retaliatory tariffs on tree fruit growers, their employees, and communities is clear and a solution is long overdue,” the letter to Tai and Raimondo stated.
The Indian government imposed a 20% tax increase on U.S. apples after the U.S. stamped tariffs on India for steel and aluminum in 2018 under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. The section gives the president “broad power to adjust imports — including through the use of tariffs — if excessive foreign imports are found to be a threat to U.S. national security,” according to the U.S. Department of Commerce website.
Washington apples make up 90-95% of apples exported from the U.S., said Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission, based in Wenatchee.
Tariffs on U.S. apples directly impact Washington apples, he said.
Before the tariff war, Washington exported around $120 million worth of apples to India. In 2022, Washington farmers barely exported $3 million, Fryhover said.
Schrier told the Wenatchee World the tariffs take a toll on family-owned farms that can least afford to pay those tariffs.
The Red Delicious apple makes up nearly all the apple exports to India, and its crop is the lowest it has been since 1968, according to the Washington delegation’s letter.
Schrier said the generational family-owned Red Delicious farms are most at risk from closing and being sold to developers and international corporations because there’s not as big of a domestic demand for the Red Delicious compared to the demand in India.
“We may lose the industry. Those family farms are so important to the economy and culture of the 8th District and it’s a big financial hit for the Wenatchee Valley,” Schrier said.
The Washington delegation also asked for Tai and Raimondo to meet with state agriculture leaders and local farmers in an effort to urge the feds to relieve the tariffs.
Schrier said her office will meet with Tai’s office and the Northwest Horticultural Council to further discuss the tariffs.
The Northwest Horticultural Council will represent farmers from the Wenatchee Valley at the meeting, but Schrier hopes that local farmers will want to participate, as she believes it can have a bigger impact than her sending a letter.
“I want those family farmers to know that I hear them and I’m fighting for them, and I want what’s best for trade and their livelihoods, and for the character of the Wenatchee Valley and Washington state,” Schrier said.
Fryhover said his organization will have representation if a meeting happens.
Fryhover also said he believes Schrier and Cantwell have been doing everything they possibly can, but it is ultimately up to the president.
Since Schrier took office in 2019, she has been a part of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. She said committee assignments are being assigned, as a new legislative session began this month, but hopes to stay on the agriculture committee.
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