ORLANDO, Fla. — A bill to ban the importation of all citrus from China has gained bipartisan support in Florida, where growers have invested billions of dollars to battle citrus greening disease that came from Asia.
The bill comes after the U.S. Department of Agriculture authorized limited varieties for import as of April 15. Before that, the United States had not allowed any citrus imports from China.
“Given that our growers have so many other challenges right now — competition from Brazil, citrus greening and other diseases — it’s obvious to me that adding Chinese imports is going to be very problematic,” said the bill’s sponsor, U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, a Republican from Lakewood.
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