How Trump’s tariffs could rattle economies along the US-Mexico border

Uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs and trade policy is putting businesses on America’s southern border on edge. With stiff duties possibly coming as soon as March 1, it’s forcing companies to put spending and hiring decisions on hold.

Uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs and trade policy is putting businesses on America’s southern border on edge. With stiff duties possibly coming as soon as March 1, it’s forcing companies to put spending and hiring decisions on hold. The 15-million-person region along the US-Mexico border, with cities such as San Diego; Tucson, Arizona; and El Paso, Texas, is rich in businesses from manufacturing and wholesaling trade to transportation and warehousing. If Trump does enact the 25% across-the-board tariffs he’s threatened, companies in that 2,000-mile area will likely feel the economic impact first. ”I can’t imagine these communities avoiding a recession during a sharp increase in tariffs,” Christopher Erickson, economics professor at New Mexico State University, told CNN. Tecma Group employs nearly 17,000 people across both sides of the US-Mexico border. In Ciudad Juarez, its factories make a variety of products from mannequins to electrical components. The company then transports those across the border, into El Paso and beyond. Free trade — with its reduced or even eliminated tariffs — is crucial to keep the business profitable. But Tecma is now in an uncomfortable wait-and-see position, said CEO Alan Russell.