Tijuana (Mexico) (AFP) – Stuck in a queue at the Mexican-US border, truck driver Juan Diego Mendoza said he was worried about the fallout of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but believed Mexicans were resilient enough to cope. “We’re economically strong and self-sufficient. Unlike them, we’re not looking for the car of the year or the best cut of meat. We’re happy with a plate of beans and an egg,” the 31-year-old told AFP.
Mendoza woke earlier than usual to hear Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s response to Trump’s 25-percent tariff. He supported her decision to wait until Sunday before laying out retaliatory measures, while leaving the door wide open for dialogue. “The president is handling it intelligently, without getting excited or letting herself be provoked by the arrogance of Trump, who thinks he owns the world,” Mendoza said, at a crossing between Tijuana and San Diego. The tariff “will have an impact, but we will endure,” he said, warming up the engine of the truck in which he brings meat from the United States to Mexico.
Mendoza is already feeling the impact of the trade tensions, which Trump has linked to drug trafficking and illegal migration. Due to increased security ordered by Sheinbaum, he and thousands of other truck drivers take up to five hours to cross the border, where vehicles undergo X-rays for contraband.
Sheinbaum announced the deployment of 10,000 more troops to the frontier in February in exchange for Trump delaying tariffs. But the pause expired on Tuesday, and longer waiting times due to increased security at the border have led to fewer trips and reduced profits for some haulage companies. Even before tariffs took effect, 28-year-old truck driver Angel Cervantes said he was feeling the squeeze from duties Trump imposed on China. There was less work available because many companies in Tijuana export Chinese brand goods, he said, adding that his company lost one client who sold air conditioners. Cervantes said his income had dropped from about $800 a week to $600, making it harder to support his wife and two children. But he was confident that Mexico’s free trade agreement with the United States and Canada would survive.
Truck driver Jonathan Figueroa, 26, said that he lost his previous job when a big client of his former employer decided to move its solar panel plant from Mexico to the United States. “My boss had told me that if Donald Trump won the presidency, the company we supplied would be taken to New Mexico. And so it was,” said the 26-year-old, who was unemployed for four months.
As well as truckers, the tariffs have triggered unease among the many workers in the factories in Mexico’s industrial border zones. After finishing her 12-hour shift at a car speaker plant, Maria Virginia Gutierrez admitted that she was worried, especially since the factory passed from American hands to a Chinese investor at the start of the year. Although many in Tijuana fear tariffs will bring pain, there is also a sense that Mexico must maintain its pride and self-respect in the face of Trump’s threats. “We have to defend ourselves,” Mendoza said.
© 2024 AFP
