Monterey, NL. The Federation of Chambers of Commerce in Tamaulipas (Fecanaco) estimated that the direct impact on foreign trade that passes through the international bridges from Ciudad Juárez to Matamoros amounted to 1,000 million pesos, from April 6 to 15, due to the measures it took the governor of Texas, Gregory W. Abbott, to carry out a double review of cargo transport to prevent illegal migration to the United States.
“We calculate that the direct impact was 1,000 million pesos in productivity. The Texas Department of Transportation has already stopped making reviews, it was an unusual review by the state of Texas,” Julio Almanza Armas, president of Fecanaco Tamaulipas, told El Economista.
The most affected sector was commerce, due to the import and export of perishables such as avocado, lemon, meat, and vegetables that go to the maquiladora production plants in the United States, as well as raw material or maquiladora products on the Mexican border, which go to Chicago or Detroit, to the automotive sector, “this affects the entire production line and the transportation line is paid hourly/truck, in addition to fuel.”
He warned that if the governors of the four states had not resolved the paralysis at the border caused by the blockades of the carriers, the American chambers would protest because they are the most affected, since they depend on some products for their commercialization, such as broccoli, chili, tomato, lemon and lettuce.
The border most affected by the measures taken by the Texas government has been that of Tamaulipas, and its 18 international bridges, since almost 50% of the international land trade between Mexico, the United States and part of Canada crosses there, commented Jorge Alfredo Lera Mejía, researcher at the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas (UAT).
The most affected bridges were the Free Trade bridge in Nuevo Laredo, the Reynosa-Pharr bridge and the Tomates bridge in Matamoros.
He explained that the Council of the Maquiladora and Export Manufacturing Industry calculated that in one day the companies lost 40 million dollars due to the delay in the passage of products to the United States through Nuevo Laredo.