Senator Stabenow Applauds Progress in Protecting Michigan Cherry Growers from Unfair Trade

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today applauded another positive step forward to protect Michigan’s cherry industry from unfair trade practices by other countries. On June 6, the U.S. International Trade Commission made a unanimous preliminary determination that the U.S. cherry industry had been harmed by unfair imports from Turkey. This is an important step towards placing anti-dumping and countervailing duties on dried tart cherry imports from Turkey, which will help level the playing field for Michigan-grown cherries.

“Michigan grows more tart cherries than any other state in the country,” said Senator Stabenow. “This is a big step forward to help protect our world famous cherry industry from unfair foreign competition.”

Recently, Turkey has dumped cherry products into domestic markets and unfairly subsidized their own producers, creating a trade imbalance that has made it harder for Michigan growers to sell their cherries at a fair price. As a result, the cherry industry has asked trade officials to step in and address this imbalance. The preliminary determination of injury by the U.S. International Trade Commission is a step toward placing anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Turkey, which will ensure foreign cherry products do not have an unfair advantage.

Senator Stabenow has long been a champion for Michigan cherry growers and has led the effort to provide relief from trade imbalances, repeatedly pressing federal trade officials to enforce the rules to hold Turkey accountable. Following the U.S. Trade Representative review urged by Senator Stabenow, a presidential proclamation officially re-imposed duties on Turkish cherry juice imports effective November 1, 2018.

In addition to her work to improve trade policies, she successfully urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make a bonus purchase to provide immediate support for cherry growers affected by unfair foreign competition. She also authored a new provision in the bipartisan 2018 Senate Farm Bill to ensure that imports have to meet the same standards as domestic products.