NOGALES, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tariffs and their potential impact on prices could be one of the biggest ways President Trump’s border policies could affect the average American. KGUN 9 has been on the border in Nogales hearing from Santa Cruz County Port Authority members about how tariffs could affect a major part of the economy.
Port officials here say 35 billion dollars in value comes across this border in food and cars and other manufactured goods. As we are learning more about how trade works we are learning how tariffs could keep some suppliers from bringing products here at all.
Close to 400 thousand trucks come through this port per year according to the Santa Cruz County Port Authority.
If President Trump follows through on imposing a 25 percent tariff on the value of the goods in those trucks fruit and vegetable importer Jaime Chamberlain says he will have to come up with that fee before he has a chance to sell the products.
“All the products we import from Mexico we would be responsible to pay those tariffs, and we'd have to have a surety company that would give us, sell us a bond to do that in order to pay the federal government on a daily basis, whatever the duties may be for all of our products.”
Chamberlain is also a member of the Port Authority board. He says if a company can’t pay the tariff up front it may have to stop bringing products across but he says he thinks the tariffs may not happen—that they’re a pressure point by President Trump to get the President of Mexico to do more to stop drug smuggling and stop the flow of immigrants.
Santa Cruz County Supervisor and Port Authority member Rudy Molera is also hoping negotiations will head off tariffs but also trying to plan for the impact of President Trump’s immigration orders.
“We're preparing for the deportation. Because with all the shake up, you know, what if Mexico decides to say, hey, we're not going to take anyone back, what are we going to do here at the border, so we're kind of looking into what we can do solutions to possible problems down the road.”
And he says the County is looking to organizations and people to be ready to help.