WASHINGTON — U.S. flower growers normally consider themselves purveyors of joy, but they’re none too happy with the state of their industry these days.
This month, 97 percent of the roses Americans purchased for Valentine’s Day came from foreign countries such as Colombia and Ecuador. And on New Year’s Day, four of every five flowers used to decorate the floats in the annual Rose Bowl parade in Pasadena, Calif., were imported.
On Thursday, growers from California and Washington – the top two states in cut-flower production – took their complaints to the U.S. Capitol. Irked with a trade policy that they say is quickly driving them out of business, the growers said Congress must help convince Americans to buy more domestic flowers.
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