EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A Democratic congressman who represents Southern New Mexico said the on-again, off-again tariff policies of the Trump Administration are causing uncertainty and hurting the economy.
U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-New Mexico, who represents a sprawling district that includes Dona Ana County, said uncertainty over trade and tariffs is hurting places like Santa Teresa, which has shown booming growth in international trade in recent years.
“If we want to grow jobs locally, we have to invest and we have to have certainty in our tariff policies and this administration is creating a very chaotic environment,” Vasquez said Tuesday, July 28 during a visit to Santa Teresa.
Vasquez spent the day meeting with representatives from different industries in Santa Teresa, hearing their concerns and fears.
Uncertainty over tariffs is hurting a wide range of industries including logistics and manufacturing, Vasquez said.
“Everyday folks, they will see higher grocery store prices. Goods will cost more to produce and transport,” Vasquez said. “It will be an overall negative force for our economy. We will feel it in our pocketbooks in the months to come.”
Vasquez told KTSM that hundreds of jobs in the Santa Teresa area have already been lost because of uncertainty over trade and tariff policies.
“It’s a problem for any business that wants to predict the future,” he said.
Businesses are either afraid to relocate or expand because of all the chaos and uncertainty, Vasquez said.
Vasquez said one of the reasons he originally ran for Congress was to help break the partisan gridlock in Washington. That means being willing to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans, he said.
“You have to be willing to sit down at the table; you don’t have to agree on everything,” he said.
“Voters are frustrated that Congress hasn’t been working on things like housing affordibility, health care, veterans issues,” he said. “Those are problems Congress could fix today. Let’s not forget immigration. Both parties have not worked on that.”
Jerry Pacheco, president of the New Mexico Border Industrial Association, said companies are getting “scrunched” from people who aren’t placing orders or postponing their buying decisions because of uncertainty over tariffs.
Also, businesses aren’t willing to make multimillion-dollar decisions to relocate or expand to a place like Santa Teresea because of that uncertainty, he said.
We have reached out to the Republican Party of El Paso County for a response.
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