US moves to slap more tariffs on fresh Canadian mushrooms

The US is moving to slap more tariffs on fresh Canadian-grown mushrooms in response to a US Department of Commerce probe that an industry representative said did not prove Canadian growers are selling unfairly, Report informs via The Canadian Press.

A fact sheet provided by Mushrooms Canada said the US department's preliminary anti-dumping duty determination, released Tuesday, proposes an 8.26 percent tariff on most fresh Canadian mushrooms.

Three companies are being hit with individual tariff levels. Champ's Fresh Farms Inc. is facing a 8.71 duty, Highline Produce Limited is braced for a 11.80 tariff and Farmers' Fresh Mushrooms, Inc. is looking at a two percent tariff.

Mushrooms Canada CEO Ryan Koeslag said the tariff rates show the idiosyncrasies of US anti-dumping law, rather than the commercial realities of the North American mushroom market.

"US anti-dumping law contains technical calculation rules that can produce a finding of 'dumping' even when business sense and market realities tell a different story," Koeslag said in a news release. "A straightforward comparison of true average US prices to true average Canadian prices would show no dumping at all."

The US hit Canada's mushroom sector with separate 2.84 percent countervailing duties in May. That Department of Commerce investigation alleged Canadian mushroom producers received unfair government subsidies, something the industry denies.