With Fewer Customs Agents At The Border, Trade Between Mexico And The US Is Slowing

“Goods go back and forth across the border sometimes four or five times during a single production cycle … and when you slow that process down, you slow down the capacity to produce things.”

By Rhonda Fanning & Casey CheekMay 8, 2019 12:46 pm,

Earlier this year, Mexico eclipsed all other countries to become America’s top trading partner, according to Waco-based economic research firm The Perryman Group. But trade between the two countries is in decline, and that’s because many resources at the southern U.S. border are going toward a large number of migrants and asylum-seekers – which in turn is having economic consequences in Texas and beyond.

Ray Perryman is president and CEO of The Perryman Group, and says Customs and Border Protection has sent some agents elsewhere, away from their normal border posts, to deal with the influx of asylum-seekers. Without as many agents, it’s taking longer to process goods moving in and out of the country.

“Commerce really depends on that; if you’ve ever spent any time at the border, you see very quickly, goods go back and forth across the border sometimes four or five times during a single production cycle,” Perryman says. “And when you slow that process down, you slow down the capacity to produce things.”

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– Who and what is affected when trade slows at the border

– How much money the state and national economy stands to lose

– How interrupting trade could be a negotiating tactic by the Trump administration

 

Written by Caroline Covington.