In his presidency, Trump is mostly well known due to his concerns on immigration and those who cross illegally. He is well known for how he has been trying to rebuild the border in order to make it harder to cross over. Just recently, Trump did a threat on closing down the border if Mexico doesn’t find a way to stop or slow down the illegal immigration. According to Jim Tankersley and Ana Swanson in their article "Trump Vows to Close Border, Even if It Hurts the Economy", although closing the border will cause a negative impact in the United States economy, President Trump said “Sure, it’s going to have a negative impact on the economy,” then adding “but security is most important.”
Although Trump claims his main concern is to keep the United States security safe, the United States economy can go through a great downfall with the border closing. Not only is Mexico our third largest trading partner, but it would also affect us in the amount of goods and workers which would then affect automakers and farmers, but there would also be other effects in “other industries that depend on Mexico for sales and goods.” According to the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Mark Zandi, the shutdown of the border between the U.S. and Mexico could then result in a recession in both countries. Not only will the closure affect a decrease in supplies and product availability, but there would also be a negative impact on stock and bond markets and in business as well. According to Zandi, “The disruption would be especially sharp in the border states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, which all have Mexico as their No. 1 export market.” Zandi believes that with the closure of the border, Trump is trying to solve a bad problem by creating another one.
One of the biggest impacts that will be shown is in the agriculture industry. Ever since the North American Free Trade Agreement started in 1994, Mexicans have relied in the produce of corn, soybeans, chicken, dairy, pork, and beef from the United States. Yet, the United States have been depending in the production of fresh fruits and vegetables from Mexico. The closure of the border will then show an increasing in prices and show a decreasement in products at the stores. This effect will most likely greatly affect low-income Mexican and Americans the most according the the article.
References:
"Trump Vows to Close Border, Even if It Hurts the Economy"
Story by Jim Tankersley and Ana Swanson
Image by Robert Martinez