Mexican truck drivers fear Trump's tariff threat

Mexican truck drivers fear Trump’s tariff threat

Mexican truckers on the Tijuana border expressed fear of the consequences of the tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, although they estimate that the country’s dependence on numerous basic products from Mexico could stop the protectionist measure.

“They are going to hurt us too much,” said Silvano Lara, 65, about the tariffs that Washington will impose on Mexico and Canada starting February 1, while waiting in a long line of trucks to cross into the United States.

Lara considered that the Republican magnate’s announcements are already reflected in the time it takes to cross the Otay international border crossing to the American port of San Diego.

“This is already affecting us with the lines to cross there to bring merchandise to Tijuana,” he added.

For his part, Emanuel Ceballos, who transports vegetables, believes that tariffs would also harm the United States, since there are “essential” products that that country only obtains from its southern neighbor.

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In 2023, land cargo transportation made 7.3 million crossings between Mexico and the United States, according to figures from the Mexican government.

That year, exported goods totaled 342,146 million dollars and imports were equivalent to 218,504 million dollars, according to official data.

In total, 70% of trade between Mexico and the United States travels by land.

On Tuesday, the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, called for “calm and cool heads” in the face of the US president’s threats, while the Canadian government warned that it will “respond” firmly.

The three countries have been partners since 1994 in a free trade agreement that was reformulated in 2020 to become the USMCA during Trump’s first term (2017-2021).

“Trump is very explosive,” said Ceballos, who hopes that Sheinbaum “plays a good role and knows how to mediate” with the president, as former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024) did at the time, he added.

Until August 2024, Mexico registered more than 211,000 land cargo transportation companies and a vehicle fleet of more than 1.4 million trucks.

The sector, which moves about 500 million tons per year, represents 3.5% of the national GDP and employs about 500,000 people directly, according to the National Chamber of Cargo Transportation.