EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Business leaders from both sides of the border met Wednesday in El Paso. It was a show of unity as a new U.S. president threatens tariffs and a vital trade pact faces review in little more than a year.
“This is very opportune because of the moment we are living in,” Juarez Mayor Cruz Perez Cuellar said. “We want to send a clear message that we want to continue working as a team, that the interests of both countries are totally compatible.”
Added El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson: “We are going as a group to dispel any myths, any rumors about this region […] We are going to show not only the United States but the world how important El Paso and Juarez are.”
Donald Trump takes office on Monday following a presidential campaign in which he vowed to rein in illegal immigration. He wants Mexico to stop letting through millions of migrants who arrive at the U.S. border every year or else slap a 25 percent tariff on Mexican exports.
The problem is many of those exports come from U.S. companies with assembly operations in Mexico. And thousands of trucking, warehousing, logistics and customs broker jobs in the United States depend on those exports.
“The rest of the country needs to know this (El Paso-Juarez) corridor is the second largest in Texas,” said El Paso County Commissioner Sergio Coronado. “It is very important we keep this trade collaboration and make it possible for both sides to have the goods go back and forth. […] Half the products that come through here go east of Texas. So, it’s not just Texas and border communities that benefit; it’s the entire country.”
Wednesday’s USMCA Binational Business Forum at the Blue Flame Building in Downtown El Paso was one of five taking place this week along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Mexican Confederation of Chambers of Commerce hosted others in Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Sonora and Baja California.
The leaders regularly keep in touch remotely, but the in-person gatherings are a show of unity and plant the seed to face any potential trade crisis together, participants said.
“This breakout meeting was an important opportunity to engage directly with our partners from Chihuahua to build a shared vision for the future of our region,” El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said. “Strong partnerships are key to driving growth and improving the quality of life for all our residents.”
He added that the needs of El Paso and Juarez residents need to be acknowledged by federal officials in Washington, D.C., and in Mexico City.
“No point of view is more important or stronger than that of our united community. We will do all the possible, we have a campaign to show the rest of the country that in this region we do things well, in a humanitarian way and aware that we need to do good for the people of this community,” Samaniego said.
Coronado said it’s important for the community on both sides of the border to speak up about how tariffs would harm both countries. But he hopes the threats don’t translate into an executive order in days to come.
“I’m hoping the federal government understands that abrupt changes would be disruptive, not just to our economy but the economy of Mexico” and possibly Canada, he said. “I think calmer heads are going to prevail in our federal government.”
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