All the Republicans in California’s congressional delegation are advocating for tighter restrictions on the Mexican avocado trade in an effort to thwart Mexican drug cartels.
“Cartels should not be able to use their influence over Mexico’s avocado supply chain to game the American market. Period,” Rep. James Gallagher, R-Calif., told the Daily Signal. “Sudden import surges are driving down prices and putting American avocado production at risk. We need fair trade rules that protect lawful American growers.”
Gallagher’s statement to the Daily Signal comes days after he, alongside fellow California Republican Reps. Jay Obernolte, Ken Calvert, Young Kim, David Valadao, Darrell Issa, and Vince Fong, sent a letter to President Donald Trump’s administration urging the federal government to put an end to the potentially deadly trade.
“That’s why I penned a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, calling for reasonable and enforceable limits on avocado import surges as part of negotiations over the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),” Gallagher continued.
As it stands, Hass avocados from the Mexican states of Michoacan and Jalisco, known as drug cartel hotspots, are allowed to be sold in the United States as long as they comply with regulations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Reports estimate that around 90% of all avocados in U.S. markets come from Mexico.
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In their letter, the lawmakers added that Mexican drug cartels, which have allegedly stolen avocado farms from law-abiding Mexican citizens, are now profiting from the sale of those avocados while interfering with U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections and controlling transportation routes.
To further support its argument, the letter also cited the fact that Mexico’s government has been forced to deploy its military to avocado-harvesting regions across the country.
“Our trade policy should never reward criminal organizations at the expense of American farmers,” Gallagher added in his interview with the Daily Signal, claiming that if the Trump administration sanctioned or cut off trade with Mexican avocado producers, it could limit the “ability” of drug cartels to “exploit the American market and profit from sudden import surges.”
In addition to financially constraining Mexican drug cartels, which have been engaged in a decades-long war responsible for hundreds of thousands of lives, Gallagher also believes that tighter federal restrictions on the sale of Mexican avocados could give a much-needed boost to American avocado farmers.
“Sudden import surges during critical weeks of the 2025 and 2026 seasons drove down prices when our growers needed market access most,” Gallagher stated. “Reasonable limits would keep Mexican avocados available while giving California farmers a fair chance to compete.”
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