Borderplex Alliance CEO says Trump’s ‘border tax’ could be devastating

It’s obvious that the United States/Mexico relationship has already been strained by President Donald Trump’s decision to build a wall on the border and a proposal for a 20 percent tax on the importation of goods from Mexico.

That’s caused a lot of concern for those living and working in the Borderland. Almost everyone ABC-7 spoke with about it admitted to being worried about the situation.

Jon Barela, the CEO of the Borderplex Alliance, told ABC-7 that this new border tax proposed by trump, 20 percent on all Mexican imports, would be absolutely devastating for the Borderland.

“It complicates the message that Mexico is and should be an ally for job creation and economic development,” Barela said, “Today, I met with several local businesses concerned about a deteriorating relationship with Mexico. We also reached out to national news organizations to tell the truth about the border. As we move forward, we need to engage in a serious, bilateral discourse.”

“I feel like he’s kind of jumping in before he knows the whole story,” said El Pasoan Pat McCaskill. “I voted for Trump, but I’m not happy with Trump.”

“We don’t have a certainty of what can happen today, tomorrow and the following day,” added El Paso resident Roel Correa.

Trump’s spokesman, Sean Spicer, told reporters the president was considering the 20 percent import tax to foot the bill for the Border Wall, the most specific proposal Trump has ever floated for how to cover a project estimated to cost between $12 billion and $15 billion.

“By doing that, we can do $10 billion a year and easily pay for the wall just through that mechanism alone,” the spokesman said. “This is something we’ve been in close contact with both houses in moving forward and creating a plan.”

Spicer said Trump was looking at taxing imports on all countries the U.S. has trade deficits with, but he added, “Right now we are focused on Mexico.”

A 20 percent tariff would represent a huge tax increase on imports to the U.S., raising the likelihood of costs being passed on to consumers. Half of all non-agricultural goods enter the U.S. duty free, according to the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The other half face import tariffs averaging 2 percent.

Mexico is one of America’s biggest trade partners, and the U.S. is the No. 1 buyer from that country, accounting for about 80 percent of Mexican exports. A complete rupture in ties could be damaging to the U.S. economy and disastrous for Mexico’s. And major harm to Mexico’s economy would surely spur more people to risk deportation, jail or even death to somehow cross the border to the U.S. – undercutting Trump’s major goal of stopping illegal immigration.

ABC-7 asked UTEP professor Dr. Josiah Heyman when the last time the relationship between the two countries was this strained?

“This is as bad as we’ve seen it in a hundred years,” said Heyman, director of UTEP’s Center for Inter-American and Border Studies, pointing out you’d have to go all the way back to the Mexican Revolution for a comparison. “There’s a lot of fear and there’s a lot of concern. We’re stuck on the continent. We can’t just build a wall and pretend we are not in the same space.”

Some El Pasoans are worried it could affect friendships in their community.

“It’s been a very wonderful feeling to know that no matter what race or person you meet they’re pretty much open to others, other relations, other cultures,” said McCaskill.

Asked if she thinks that could change due to recent developments, she replied: “I do. I believe it could and I hope it doesn’t.”

Dr. Heyman called this an unprecedented time. Barela told ABC-7 he also met with the Mexican Consul General Thursday morning and he said the feeling was one of “deep disappointment.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ARTICLE