US Suspends Avocado Imports From Mexico Because Officials Are Threatened, President Obrador: There's Always Interest

They preside over Meksiko Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. (Wikimedia Commons/EneasMx)

JAKARTA - The United States decided to keep suspending avocado imports from Mexico for as long as necessary, to ensure the safety of US inspectors who were verbally threatened in Mexico's western state of Michoacan, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Monday.

The February 11 cessation of export inspections by the USDA Plant and Animal Health Inspection Service (APHIS), marks another source of trade tensions between Washington and Mexico City.

According to Reuters on February 15, all avocados shipped to the United States must be checked for safety, and those approved before February 11 can still be exported, the agency said.

The USDA said the suspension was ordered "after a security incident (verbal threat) involving our employees. The suspension will remain in effect for as long as necessary to ensure appropriate action is taken, to secure the safety of APHIS personnel working in Mexico."

Details of the incident were not immediately clear. Michoacan, Mexico's largest avocado-producing state and the only one certified to export to the United States, has long had safety concerns over issues with drug gangs.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday authorities were assessing the US decision, suspecting there may be political motivation behind the suspension.

Speaking at the government's regular press conference, President Lopez Obrador said the matter may have been influenced by groups with something to gain from the suspension, without elaborating.

"The truth is, there is always an economic, commercial interest behind it. Or there is a political attitude," he explained.

To note, President Biden's Administration recently filed a number of complaints about Mexico's enforcement of labor rights and environmental standards, under the updated US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.

In addition, the United States has also raised concerns about government regulations in its telecommunications and energy sectors.

President Lopez Obrador pointed to a recent decision by US trade officials to seek talks with Mexico on its environmental obligations under North American trade agreements, including the protection of the endangered vaquita dolphin.

However, President Lopez Obrador said Mexico's relationship with the US government was "very good."