International
Uncertainty about Trump’s tariffs is sharpening in the heart of the Mexican maquila
Uncertainty is exacerbated on the northern border of Mexico as one week has been completed by the tariffs of the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, which unsettles, in particular, Ciudad Juárez, the epicenter of the Mexican maquila.
Data from the Association of Maquiladoras and Exporters of Ciudad Juárez (AMAC) show that about 70% of local exports go to the US market, which makes the city, bordering the US El Paso, Texas, especially vulnerable to trade restrictions.
In addition, Juárez hosts more than 300 maquiladoras, which employ about 300,000 people to produce everything from medical devices to auto parts.
Therefore, “the border would be the most affected” with the 25% tariffs that Trump announced last week, “with the loss of jobs, probably with factory closures, probably with high inflationary costs,” said Martha Bárcena, former ambassador of Mexico to the United States (2018-2021).
“So the main stakeholders are the entire border strip in which there is not this trade war, but on the contrary that there is cooperation, as the president (Claudia Sheinbaum) has said. Without a doubt, it is a difficult scenario that has been seen today,” he said in an interview.
Threat of tariffs: risks on both sides of the Mexico-US border.
Trump shook the region’s economy by announcing on Monday of last week that one of his first executive orders will be to impose tariffs of 25% on “all products” of Mexico and Canada, until the “invasion” of illegal migrants and drugs, in particular fentanyl, is “stopped.
The president of Mexico trusted last Friday that there will be no tariffs after talking on the phone with Trump, while the Mexican government argues that the United States would lose 400,000 jobs and suffer from inflation, such as an additional 3,000 dollars per van, for example.
Economist Alejandro Sandoval Murillo, president of the Mexican Institute of Finance Executives (IMEF) in Juárez, told EFE that “tariffs are a tax that is placed to import, affecting the price of the product and making it less competitive in the face of existing alternatives.”
“The question of imposing tariffs on Mexico is whether (in the United States) they have alternatives to Mexican production, which is obviously not China, because China is the main problem. In that sense, if there is not, the American consumer will have to absorb that tariff and the damage is for them,” he warned.
Impact on small entrepreneurs and consumers
Although the most immediate impact is felt in large industries, small entrepreneurs also face challenges.
“Chihuahua is fundamental in those border states because, besides, Texas is our first trading partner. With them we trade more than 216 billion dollars a year. So I think we should seek that renewed dialogue between the governor of Texas (Greg Abbott) and the governor of Chihuahua (María Eugenia Campos),” Bárcena said.
For workers, uncertainty is also palpable in the face of possible low wages and challenging working conditions.
“The fact that consumers stop spending so much will cause company closures. That is the type of consequences that can begin to occur if, and only if, things evolve negatively, tariffs, reactions, reprisals, etc., towards a negative direction,” Sandoval Murillo warned.
In the face of the adverse scenario, local and federal authorities have tried to mitigate the effects of tariffs through tax incentives and support programs for affected companies.
But many entrepreneurs consider these measures to be insufficient in the face of the impact of US trade policies.
“Because neither government can afford that luxury (of tariffs) and emphatically the Mexican government cannot under any reason. But the Mexican government I don’t mean (only) the federal one. This is a joint work between the subnational, state and municipal, along with the federal,” the economist concluded.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
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