The Trump tariffs: How to be preparedThe Trump tariffs: How to be prepared
The president-elect could impose import tariffs as soon as next week. Produce industry leaders urge companies to be prepared financially and logistically. Find out steps to take today.

At a Glance
- Companies should be prepared for tariffs, according to the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas.
- Be ready with the right accounts in place or shipments will stop.
- Secure bonds to guarantee payment, as fees can accumulate quickly.
With the start of Donald Trump's presidency less than a week away, there is much speculation about the many “day-one actions” he says he will take. Chief among them is the imposition of import tariffs on a wide range of goods. Just this week, President-elect Trump disputed a report in The Washington Post that his tariff proposal will in fact be limited in scope.
“That is wrong,” he wrote on his Truth Social network on Jan. 6, indicating that tariffs are coming, and they will be significant.
While debating this topic has become the national pastime, others are preparing for the possibility that it will indeed come to pass.
“Trump has been clear that he wants to use tariffs to negotiate. The threat is real,” said Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas (FPAA). “What companies need to do to prepare is also real.”
Based in the border town of Nogales, Arizona, FPAA is an industry trade association representing importers of Mexican produce. While many of its members are also based in Nogales and work directly with Mexican shippers, companies all over the United States and Canada also deal directly with growers and shippers from this region. They too would benefit from at least exploring the following advice from Jungmeyer.
Take steps now
“We are advising our members to prepare for these potential tariffs by having the right accounts in place to pay these tariffs if they are imposed,” he said. “Importers need to prepare themselves legally.”
He revealed that, without the proper ACH (automatic clearing house) authorization for each customer, the flow of product will stop. If President Trump immediately imposes tariffs, border-crossing trucks will stop just as quickly without the proper accounts in place. Jungmeyer said the tariff will have to be paid before the product is allowed to come into the country.
He added that importers must also have bonds in place to guarantee payment as the tariff fees will add up quickly. “Typically, you need to have a bond that covers 10% of your business volume,” he said.
Securing such a bond is not an overnight exercise for most companies. FPAA has been advising its members to consider the actions that they need to take. He said that while some have put plans in place, others have not.
For Jungmeyer, the scope of this issue cannot be overstated. If an across-the-board 25% tariff is imposed, an importer’s cost of doing business will immediately increase by a like amount. Their budget, lines of credit and operating loans may very well need to be adjusted to account for that 25% increase.
Jungmeyer said distributors need to analyze their contracts with growers as well as their contracts with retailers. A distributor does not want to harm either relationship by not being prepared.
Impacting thousands of trucks per month
Jungmeyer also said that a look at the number of produce trucks that pass through the border in Nogales each day reveals just how big of an issue this is. He noted that the average Nogales distributor handles about 5-10 truckloads from Mexico per day, with the largest companies dealing with many more than that. In total, about 1,500 produce trucks will pass through the border during the peak shipping days, which are typically during the winter months.
There are, on average, about 1,400 cartons on each load. A low value item selling for $5 per carton would produce a total truck value of $7,000, while a high value item selling for $50 a box would equate to $70,000 per truck. A tariff would be assessed as a percentage of the load’s value. Hence, a 25% tariff on a $7,000 shipment would be $1,750 while 25 percent of $70,000 would be $17,500.
Container ships loaded with hundreds of containers, or a ship load full of bananas would have values far exceeding the produce truck loads crossing at Nogales.
Is this truly a possiblity?
Jungmeyer said it is his belief that an incoming president does have the authority to impose tariffs if he so desires. However, there are trade agreements in place that specifically address tariffs and prescribe procedures through which to impose them.
In fact, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (MCA) that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020 includes a zero-tariff policy on agricultural goods. A similar treaty with 10 Latin American countries also restricts across-the-board tariffs.
In fact, many seemingly informed experts have noted in recent weeks that the United States would be violating many of its trade agreements by issuing a unilateral tariff decree. Those opinions do not appear to have stemmed the rhetoric on the issue by the incoming administration.
For Jungmeyer, the best strategy continues to be being prepared.
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