New Mexico’s State Treasurer is voicing strong opposition to the tariff policies of President Donald Trump.
Treasurer Laura Montoya warned that the economic impact could be severe for New Mexico.
She said several industries in the state could be negatively impacted, in particular by tariffs levied against Mexico, including oil and gas, agriculture, healthcare, housing, and defense, among others.
“ I just feel that New Mexico is really getting hit hard because we're one of the poorest states already, and you're hitting every single one of our industries, even the ones that are very, very strong," Montoya said.
"Having the national labs and the military bases here as well doesn't help if we have issues with Mexican tariffs on the uranium or the equipment. So I just feel like holistically we're getting, hammered in all different directions.”
While Mexico and Canada were not hit as hard as some in yesterday’s Trump Administration announcement about sweeping new tariffs against dozens of countries, concerns about North American trade remain.
While some countries face tariffs of around 50%, Mexico, at the moment is around 4 percent, according to RBC, a Canadian bank.
Montoya was speaking on a call earlier this week with financial officials from three other states to comment on tariffs.
Mexican tariffs, in particular, she said, will disrupt supply chains and add financial strain to a state already facing high poverty rates and economic stress.
“ I'm so sick of hearing something out of a person's mouth saying, 'I love our veterans. I love our military. I love our vulnerable senior citizens. I love our disabled communities,'" Montoya said.
"And in the other side of that mouth, hurting them, and damaging them, and stressing them out, and giving them inconsistency that they're going to have their pension fund or their social security or their Medicaid,
Montoya criticized the administration’s tariff policy, citing economic isolationism and arguing that the U.S. economy thrives on global trade, not protectionism.
