Diplomats from two of Connecticut’s biggest trading partners – Mexico and Canada – described how their economies are suffering from President Donald Trump's trade war.
Speaking at a World Affairs Council of Connecticut gathering in Hartford Tuesday, they said the trade war could hurt America's economy, too.
Alberto Fierro Garza is Consul General of Mexico in Boston.
“It's been a complex time, but as you might have read, [Mexican] President Claudia Sheinbaum has been saying, ‘Let's have our heads very cool, and let's negotiate,’” Fierro said. “We need to continue being North American partners. We think that among partners, it's not nice to begin with tariffs.”
The Mexican diplomat says his country is worried about new U.S. tariffs on tomatoes in July.
“We are the most important producer of tomatoes and 70% of tomatoes bought in the US come from Mexico, so that would make tomatoes very expensive for Americans too,” Fierro said.
“Well, we make some damn fine tomatoes, too, up in Canada,” joked Canada's Consul General in New York Tom Clark.
Clark says the trade war is resulting in thousands of people being thrown out of work in Canada. He is concerned about additional Trump tariffs making it difficult for Canada to sell items like lumber and prescription drugs.
“When I look at tariffs, I say what the hell are we doing? This is just dumb,” Clark said. He says there is no need for the new tariffs.
Clark says there is a deep connection between Connecticut and Canada, with about 35,000 people working in Connecticut for Canadian companies.
According to data from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Canada is also Connecticut’s largest export partner. The state exported $2.3 billion in goods to Canada last year, or 13% of the state’s total goods exports.
At $1.7 billion, Mexico is Connecticut’s third largest export partner, after Germany.
But Trump argues that tariffs are a way to raise money for the U.S., protect American industry, and pressure other countries to prevent immigrants or drugs from crossing into the U.S.
Fierro said the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants is terrifying undocumented Mexicans in the U.S.
“There's total fear. Fear about not knowing if they can go freely to take their kids to school, if they're having lunch in a restaurant, if at any moment there could be an operation at any moment to take them out,” Fierro said.
He said most Mexican immigrants have been living in the U.S. for a long time, paying taxes, and contributing to the country. Still, he expects the crackdown to have a chilling effect even on legal immigration. He predicts Mexican college students who have been coming to the U.S. to study will instead seek education in other countries.
Trump administration officials argue that undocumented people have violated the law by coming into the U.S. without permission, so they must be deported as quickly as possible.
Immigrating to the U.S. without proper immigration paperwork is not a criminal offense under federal law, but a civil violation.
