California Republicans urge USMCA limits on Mexican avocado surges

On Oct. 6, 2026, seven Republican lawmakers from California’s congressional delegation sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer urging the addition of a provision to the USMCA seasonal produce solution that would limit sudden surges of Mexican avocado imports.

The demand comes amid concerns that import spikes, which they attribute to Mexican drug‑cartel influence, are driving down prices for domestic growers and threatening the viability of California’s avocado industry. The letter notes that the United States imported roughly 2.87 billion pounds of fresh avocados in 2025, with Mexico supplying about 83 percent of that volume.

“These increasingly frequent surges are collapsing U.S. avocado prices and placing the future of American avocado production at risk,” the lawmakers wrote.

Republicans James Gallagher, Jay Obernolte, Ken Calvert, Young Kim, David Valadao, Darrell Issa and Vince Fong argue that cartels exert “substantial influence” over the supply chain by extorting growers, using illegally obtained land, interfering with USDA inspections and controlling transportation routes. They also cite Mexico’s deployment of military forces to avocado‑producing regions as evidence of the depth of cartel involvement.

According to the letter, the surges occur during critical weeks of the 2025 and 2026 California growing seasons, depress market prices, and leave American growers unable to compete with fruit that reaches the U.S. market under conditions the lawmakers say do not reflect legitimate production costs.

“American avocado growers cannot compete in a market shaped by criminal organizations that profit regardless of the price paid to legitimate producers,” the delegation wrote.

The lawmakers stress that they are not seeking to ban Mexican avocados outright. Instead, they request “reasonable and enforceable” limits designed to prevent sudden import surges from overwhelming the domestic market while preserving substantial access for Mexican fruit.

U.S. Trade Representative Greer and the Mexican Embassy have been contacted for comment, but no response was available at the time of publication.

The request arrives as the Biden administration finalizes trade negotiations under the USMCA, where agricultural provisions remain a contentious point between U.S. producers and foreign exporters.