Mexico is the No. 11 market for Oregon exported goods — and the No. 6 market for Oregon imported goods.
President Trump triggered a new fight over trade yesterday as the White House proposed a 20% tax on imports from Mexico to pay for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The tax would have a negative impact on Oregon trade and businesses, says Nathan Buehler, a spokesperson for Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency.
Mexican imports from Oregon were valued at $407 million in 2015, according to the World Institute for Strategic Economic Research, an international trade database. The imports consist primarily of computer and electronic products, industrial machinery, food and wood products.
That same year, Oregon imported $713 million in goods from Mexico — mostly semi-trucks and electrical machinery.
“Mexico is a significant trade partner,” Buehler says. “It’s also a diverse set of Oregon products that goes to Mexico, not just one particular industry.”
Mexico is the No. 11 market for Oregon exported goods and the No. 6 country for goods imported into the state.
“Regarding the construction of the wall, the President of Mexico stated that our country does not believe in walls, considering far from uniting us, they divide us. He regrets and condemns the decision of continuing the construction of a wall.”
In an August interview, Pena noted that an increasing number of Mexicans are returning to the U.S. “The reality is equilibrium. The rate of new people is zero,” he said.
