Washington. – The United States and Mexico reached a tentative agreement on the new terms for the importation of Mexican tomatoes, and with this avoiding the war trade that was expected after last year’s suspension of a covenant bilateral agreement from 1996 by the White House.

The tentative agreement was reached late Saturday night, and raised the minimum selling price of Mexican tomatoes in the U.S., said in a statement yesterday the Under Secretary of Commerce of the United States, Francisco Sanchez.

This new agreement also increases the types of tomatoes (1 to 4) that will be regulated by the agreement, and will "restore stability and confidence in the tomato market in the United States," explained Sanchez.

A public discussion period will be open regarding the agreement, and the U.S. Department of Commerce is expecting for it to be in full force as of March 4, 2013.

The new agreement will replace the one that was in effect since 1996, which the U.S Government decided to cancel last September following pressure from Florida growers, who argued that Mexican tomatoes were sold at prices below the cost of production.

Almost half of the tomatoes consumed in the U.S. come from Mexico.

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