Valley reps’ reactions to Trump’s tariffs range from relief to worry

6 days ago 41

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday the implementation of new reciprocal tariffs on a majority of U.S. trading partners in hopes of boosting domestic manufacturing, but what does it mean for the Rio Grande Valley?

The new policy placed a 10% baseline increase on imports from nearly all trade partners, with one notable exception: the countries involved in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Trump had said the tariffs were imposed on the nations that run “meaningful trade surpluses with the United States,” according to the Associated Press.

He went further when saying that the U.S. had been “looted” by other nations since building the global trading system after World War II.

In the Valley, however, the area relies heavily on its trade relations with Mexico, which amounts to billions of dollars in produce crossing local ports of entry annually, especially at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge.

In fact, the Pharr bridge saw $47 billion in global trade in 2022 which was growing at a monthly rate of 3% at the time.

Understanding the impact of maintaining good relations with Mexico as a trade partner, U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-McAllen, explained she was pleased that the administration excluded Mexico from the sweeping tariffs announced Wednesday.

The congresswoman cited local farmers in the agriculture industry in the Valley as benefiting from that exclusion.

“South Texas is home to some of the busiest land ports of entry in our country and I understand the importance of our trade partnership with Mexico. I am proud to have advocated to the White House on behalf of farmers and families for key agricultural products to be excluded from tariffs,” De La Cruz said in a statement.

“Today, President Trump announced that USMCA-compliant goods will continue to see a 0% tariff under the announced trade strategy. I will continue to stay in communication with the White House and our community on the impacts of today’s announcement.”

U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Brownsville, expressed disappointment with the passing of the tariffs, explaining that this will only hurt Americans, causing a rise in prices for “virtually all goods.”

“While I agree that we should always advocate for more fair trade, South Texans need economic stability, not chaos and higher prices,” Gonzalez said in a statement Thursday. “The Trump (a)dministration’s ‘Liberation Day’ is a lie. These unrestrained tariffs on our trading partners will only lead to higher prices on virtually all goods and foods. Tariffs are a tool, not a strategy. The (p)resident must focus on lowering costs for South Texans, not starting global trade wars.”

Border Trade Alliance President Britton Mullen expressed relief that the new tariffs did not apply to USMCA partners Canada and Mexico.

However, Mullen explained there remains concerns on how the tariffs will affect other imported goods from those countries.

“We are hopeful that this is a recognition of the value of preserving USMCA’s position as the globe’s most economically competitive trading bloc,” Mullen said. “Still, we remain troubled by the maintenance of tariffs on other goods imported from Canada and Mexico. We believe the U.S. should continue to seek opportunities to remove import taxes, which are passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices.”

Mullen explained that the new policy still stands to negatively impact the U.S. economy, posing the risk of disruptions in the freight and logistics sectors due to lower shipping volumes.

This can occur, Mullen added, if importers recalibrate prices around the new import taxes.

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