How Would Closing The Border Impact Ag?

President Trump’s threat to close the U.S. border with Mexico is unnerving U.S. agriculture and others, fearful of what it could do with to our relationship with America’s third-largest trading partner.  Swift price hikes for groceries and autos, followed by layoffs within days, massive trade losses for U.S. beef and produce growers, and more are all at stake.

Earlier this week, Customs and Border Patrol suspended commercial truck processing at Arizona’s Port of Nogales to redeploy agents to deal with a flood of illegal migrants.  But, Longtime Washington D.C. ag trade consultant Craig Thorn argues shutting down the border will hobble U.S. agriculture.

“Shutting down the border would be disastrous. We’re already having problems with some agricultural exports, because of retaliatory duties that Mexico’s put in place, in response to U.S. duties on steel and aluminum…and that’s hurt, particularly, the pork and dairy industries, but shutting down the border would, obviously, hurt a much broader range of agricultural producers in the U.S."

And closing the border would add another big hurdle in the U.S. or Mexico when it comes to ratifying the USMCA.  Last month, U.S. Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, on demands from both political parties—and Mexico and Canada--to lift metals tariffs, first, “On Canada and Mexico, in the context of maintaining the integrity of the steel and aluminum program, we want very much to work out an agreement with Canada and Mexico, and we’re in the process of doing that. Whether we’ll succeed or not, I don’t know…but it certainly is my hope that we’ll do that.”

And, Congressional Democrats want more USMCA protections for labor and the environment, and ways to enforce adherence to the deal.  But, with the border shut down, or partially closed, there might be even less incentive to act, especially in a toxic political climate, with the country already into the next presidential election cycle.

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