EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — New Mexico State Treasurer Laura M. Montoya said tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration on Mexico will have “real, disastrous consequences for New Mexicans and industries across our state.”
A temporary pause on a 25 percent tariff on Mexico ended on Tuesday, March 4.
Montoya said that will have real-world consequences for New Mexicans and the state’s economy.
“With the tariff pause ending today, we are facing real, disastrous consequences for New Mexicans and industries across our state,” Montoya said. “Imposing such a large tariff increase on Mexico, our state’s and our nation’s largest trading partner, puts families, jobs, businesses, and our economy at risk.”
Montoya said the tariffs will impose higher operational costs on New Mexico’s industries and national laboratories, “stalling innovation and national security efforts while also making life more expensive and burdensome for everyday New Mexicans.”
New Mexico’s economy, sustained by the oil and gas, agriculture, health care, housing, energy, aerospace, defense, film, construction, and technology industries, is inextricably linked to trade with Mexico, Montoya’s office said.
“The Trump Tariff War on Mexico is a reckless gamble with people’s lives, their well-being, and their futures,” Montoya said. “Mexico is our state’s largest trade partner, sourcing a quarter of all imports amounting to more than $2.5 billion per year. The ramification of shattering our economic stability is chaos that will prove detrimental to spending, market rate volatility, and overcompensated inflation with long-lasting effects.”