Closing the border would put the US economy at a ‘standstill’ and actually worsen illegal border-crossings. Here’s how it would affect food prices, jobs, and Americans’ everyday lives.

When the Trump administration shuttered one San Diego border-crossing last November for a mere five hours, US businesses lost an estimated $5.3 million, according to Penichet-Paul.

Closing every single port of entry along the entire southern border, indefinitely, would wreak far more havoc, he said. Mexico is America’s third-largest trading partner. Roughly $558 billion in goods flowed across the border in 2017 alone.

American consumers would feel much of the brunt, with prices spiking for the fruits and vegetables imported from Mexico — namely products like avocados, strawberries, tomatoes, onions, shallots, bell peppers, squash, chili peppers, and cucumbers.

Read more: A US-Mexico border shutdown threatens more than just avocados — here are all the foods that could disappear from store shelves

“Once you close the border, you will start to see the effects most likely within the first day, and the effects will only continue to amplify as the border continues to be closed,” Penichet-Paul said.

He continued: “Maybe once you reach one or a couple of weeks, that’s when you’ll start to notice things like agricultural products not coming into the US, supply chains disrupted, and that’s just a testament to how important and vital the border is to the flow of the economy.”

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