My letter to the NY Times re: Rotten Tomatoes

Re: United States and Mexico Reach Tomato Deal, Averting a Trade War

Dear Sirs:
The biggest losers in this rotten tomato deal with Mexico will be U.S. consumers. In fact, to call it a "deal" is not accurate. Mexico agreed to the so-called deal, which will raise the minimum sale price for Mexican tomatoes, only to prevent a worse outcome; i.e., a renewal of the U.S.'s "anti-dumping" charges. So, Mexicans invest billions in greenhouses to meet the demands of the specialty tomato market in the U.S., while U.S. growers in Florida pick their tomatoes while green and then treat them with a gas to change their color. U.S. growers object to losing this market and march like all good socialists to government to stop the evil foreigners from offering American consumers what we want at the price we are willing to pay. I am certain that this plunder of the American consumer is just a tip of the iceberg of government protection of inefficient and backward industries.