These days, it’s unusual to see a major United States agriculture coalition focus on anything other than tariffs. Since before Donald Trump’s official “Liberation Day,” the agricultural industry has kept a hawk’s eye on U.S.-imposed tariffs and retaliatory levies from other countries. However, Northwest Horticultural Council President Mark Powers told Freshfruitportal.com that while the issue has always been on the board’s radar, it’s not at the top of its list right now.

The Northwest Horticultural Council represents the growers, packers, and shippers of apples, pears, and cherries in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

The council’s growers produce 63% of all apples, 87% of the fresh pears, and 68% of the fresh sweet cherries grown in the United States. Powers said the industry exports about 30% of the apple, pear, and cherry crops to more than 40 countries worldwide - less than half, but still a substantial portion.

Northwest Horticultural Council's take on tariffs

Powers said the organization has been advocating for fruit and vegetable import tariffs. Its focus is on reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade that affect U.S. growers, and he hopes that Trump’s novel approach to leveling the playing field will accomplish just that.

"The NHC believes that unfair, non-reciprocal trade is a problem and has been so for decades," Powers explained. "Tariffs on fruits and vegetables coming into the U.S. are zero, and we have long said that should change." 

China is the second-largest export market for Pacific Northwest sweet cherries and the ninth-largest for Pacific Northwest apples. Therefore, the industry will definitely feel a sting with every retaliatory tariff announced by China.

"The retaliatory tariffs announced by the People's Republic of China are creating market challenges for tree fruit growers who export to China," Powers said. "Our competitors around the world often have negotiated preferential trade agreements that make it difficult for U.S. fruit to compete in many markets. We are pleased to see a recognition of the need for reciprocity in trade and a focus on the need for U.S.-grown fruit to be competitive."

However, he clarified that while growers and exporters who are part of the council are concerned about the potential impact of retaliatory tariffs and the uncertainty that might affect key export markets, tariffs are not their main concern.

"The issue of tariffs takes a back seat to the extreme economic pressures our industry has been under for years, largely because of unsustainable increases in labor costs," Powers explained. "Tree fruit is still largely hand-picked, and labor rates driven by the H-2A program that ignore the market are killing our farmers. Pacific Northwest tree fruit growers have been fighting for survival, regardless of tariffs and retaliation."

"Our industry has been fighting extinction long before the trade war began," he emphasized. 

A Northwest Horticultural Council-commissioned analysis of Washington apple labor costs in 2023 showed that surveyed farms had a net return to the orchard of $100 million in 2022 - about 5% of the state’s $2.07 billion apple crop.

Powers said that during the 2023 crop, labor costs, which have risen 127% over the last decade, ate up 99% of grower returns.

"Whether or not there are new tariffs in export markets, for many growers, labor and other input costs are the most significant determining factors for whether to continue growing fruit or ripping out the orchard."