France bans U.S. cherries due to dimethoate insecticide

France’s decision to ban U.S. cherries won’t have a big commercial impact on U.S. farmers but nonetheless raises troubling questions about trade, experts say.

The country is prohibiting cherry imports from any nation that allows growers to spray dimethoate, an insecticide the French suspect of threatening human health, according to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

In terms of the impact on the U.S. cherry market, France’s decision is largely irrelevant, said B.J. Thurlby, president of the Northwest Cherry Growers industry group.

“It’s absolutely not something we’re sitting here worried about,” Thurlby said.

Last year, France bought less than $500,000 worth of U.S. cherries, down from the most recent peak of $2.7 million in 2011, according to USDA trade data.

To compare, Canada and South Korea — the largest buyers of U.S. cherries — each imported more than $100 million worth of the crop in 2015.

“France is a very small market for U.S. cherries, especially from the Pacific Northwest,” said Mark Powers, executive vice president of the Northwest Horticultural Council.

Even so, the bigger concern is whether France’s decision will have trade policy impacts, Powers said.

Under normal trade rules, countries establish maximum residue limits for pesticides and allow the importation of crops as long as they fall below those thresholds, he said.

In the case of dimethoate, Northwest cherry growers rarely use the insecticide and it wouldn’t likely have residues on fruit headed to France, Powers said.

Nonetheless, France has prohibited all cherry imports from the U.S. simply because the insecticide can legally be used within its borders.

“France appears to have taken a very aggressive position in terms of banning product even if our cherries don’t have any residue of dimethoate,” he said. “If there’s no residue on the fruit, it still can’t get into France, and that’s a major concern.”

The new approach is problematic because France may take the same unbending stance regarding other pesticides or crops, said Powers.

For example, the country bought more than $137 million worth of tree nuts from the U.S. last year.

Another country may also emulate France’s position regarding pesticide restrictions, which would also undermine normal trade rules, he said.

“Once countries start ignoring them, that’s when you start seeing real problems,” Powers said. “That’s really the disturbing part, and trade policy implications are focused on that.”

Though France’s policy on the U.S. will be minimal, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service expects it could help countries that don’t use dimethoate.

The insecticide is considered effective in killing the spotted wing drosophila, which invaded French orchards in 2010 and is expected to cause heavy losses this year, FAS reports. France had banned its domestic use of dimethoate, prompting protests among its farmers who said the prohibition would benefit competitors from other nations.

Since French production of cherries will be reduced, the ban may indirectly help U.S. cherries penetrate markets where France traditionally exports its own crop, such as Britain and Germany, according to FAS.