Below are highlights of media coverage following California Avocado Commission President Ken Melban's testimony before the USMCA panel last week. The Commission will continue to advocate on behalf of growers on this issue and provide updates as new information becomes available.
AS TRUMPTHREATENS TO LEAVE NORTH AMERICAN DEAL, GROUPS URGE HIM TO 'DO NO HARM'
Dec 4, 2025
“But growers of avocados, bell peppers, squash and other produce from California and Florida complained about a flood of low-priced products from Mexico, saying that American farmers needed more trade protection, particularly at peak times of year.”
UAW CALLSFOR BIGCHANGES IN USMCA
Dec 5, 2025
California avocado producers, during the first day of hearings Wednesday, urged USTR to establish a tariff-rate quota to restrict imports from Mexico.
Ken Melban, president of the California Avocado Commission, alleged the Biden administration undermined the border inspection system for Mexican avocados when itreplaced U.S. government inspectors with inspectors employed by Mexico.
That “destroyed the paramount safeguards” of a 1997 protocol between the two countries, Melban said, “sharply increasing the pest risks and making the inspection system more susceptible to [Mexican drug] cartel activity.”
He urged USTR to put the onus for ensuring the “safety and integrity” of the inspection system on the Mexican government by threatening to shut down access to the U.S. avocado market if problems persist.
Melban also called on the Trump administration to use Section 232 to impose aseasonal tariff-rate quota on imports of fresh avocados from Mexico from March to September, when California growers typically market their crops.
CALIFORNIA AVOCADO COMMISSION URGES CHANGES TOUSMCA AMID OVERSUPPLY AND PEST CONCERNS
Dec 9, 2025
On December 3, Ken Melban, President of the California Avocado Commission (CAC), addressed the federal review committee in Washington, DC, tasked with reforming the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). In his presentation, the industry representative urged the committee to act on two key threats to his state’s avocado industry: pests and market oversupply.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) must present a position report on the USMCA by early January, which will be a key component in deciding whether to extend the treaty for another 16 years, let it expire, or bring it to an early end.
SIX THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT USMCAAND AMERICA'S GROWING AG TRADE DEFICIT
Dec 5, 2025
Fruit and vegetable groups in the U.S. are pressing for more controls to reducethe flood of imports from Mexico. California farmers raised concerns about both pest risks and the surge of low-priced imports in products such as avocados. Mexico is the dominant player in avocado sales in the U.S.
"While imports thrive, the trendlines for our industry all point to decline," said Ken Melban, president of the California Avocado Commission.
US PRODUCE INDUSTRY SPEAKS UP: THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THE UPCOMING USMCA AGREEMENT REVIEW
Dec 1, 2025
The California Avocado Commission, on the other hand, believes the USMCA should be modified to reinstate prior inspection protocols and establish a tariff-rate quota on avocado imports from Mexico. According to CAC’s comments, “over the past two decades, the steep increase in US imports of low-priced avocados from Mexico, Peru, and other foreign sources has taken a toll on the California avocado industry.”
In the letter, the organization stated that avocado exports to the United States, now entering the market year-round, increased by 312 percent to 1,035,200 metric tons from 2021 to 2023. This increase has led to lower prices and reduced demand for California avocados.