DALLAS — Arlington Mayor Jim Ross is no fan of tariffs, and he doesn’t see how they benefit any Texan.
So, he was relieved when President Donald Trump announced another temporary reprieve on 25% tariffs on some products – not all – coming from Mexico and Canada.
“The cost of tariffs is not paid by Mexico or Canada. It’s not paid by China. It’s paid by the end user, the consumer. That’s the citizens here in the United States. That’s our citizens in Texas,” Mayor Ross told us on Y’all-itics.
The one-month pause exempts most goods from our neighbors to the north and south that are covered under the trade agreement negotiated during President Trump’s first term.
Specifically, the President said he wanted to help American carmakers.
But other industries aren’t as fortunate and still face tariffs.
Logistics expert Jorge Torres tells us many exporters in Mexico are holding up shipments as they try to come up with a plan to reduce their financial exposure.
Consumers here in Texas are likely to first notice the impact of tariffs when they go to the grocery store.
“Avocados, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, berries, a lot of produce that you see in your grocery stores pretty much come from Mexico. The majority that you’re gonna see at the grocery stores will come from Mexico,” Torres explained. “If they hold up inventory in Mexico and not ship it to the U.S., that might create a lack of supply, which will create some inflationary pressures.”
Torres is the founder and President of Interlink Trade Services, which offers everything from consulting services to importers and exporters, to warehousing and distribution of raw materials.
He’s been doing it for three decades, but before now, he says geopolitics never played a large role in the import-export business.
“He’s (President Trump) bringing politics into an area that we never saw politics like this before, which is the trade community, the import-export trade. So, now we have to take politics very serious in our industry,” said Torres.
Torres also tells us lawmakers along the border are getting an earful from worried trade association groups, and importers and exporters from both sides of the border. But he quickly adds that they haven’t received much feedback so far.
Businesses and CEOs love predictability and certainty, which allows them to plan for the future. Without it, many become reluctant to expand, or build new facilities or start new projects.
Using his own company as an example, Torres tells us if things don’t improve within six months to a year, he’ll have to start making “adjustments,” which could lead to collateral damage to the economy.
“If I don’t have volume to import, goods to be uploaded in the warehouse for cross-docking, I mean, obviously I have to lay people off. That’s going to generate unemployment. I’m not going to renew leases for buildings that I have warehouses. So, everyone loses,” the logistics expert explained, adding that the tariffs don’t make sense to him.
That potential threat to jobs is one of the main reasons Arlington Mayor Jim Ross and San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg recently sent a letter to Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz expressing “deep concerns” over the “job-killing threat” that tariffs pose to the automobile industry in Texas.
Arlington and San Antonio are Texas’ two largest auto-manufacturing hubs.
In Arlington, for example, 5,200 Texans build vehicles for General Motors and thousands more work for GM suppliers in Texas. There are nearly 10,000 such workers doing the same for Toyota in San Antonio.
Even though the automobile industry received a one-month pause, President Trump has made clear the tariffs will kick in on April 2.
Mayor Ross says at that point, consumers can expect to pay significantly more for a vehicle.
“I’ve heard different expectations that it could be as little as $8,000 to $10,000 per vehicle, or as much as $15,000 to $20,000. That’s a substantial increase in the cost of an SUV,” he said.