From the very beginning of his campaign for the presidency, Donald Trump has been threatening to construct a border wall between the USA and Mexico. Now, as those threats get closer and closer to a reality, warnings about the impact it would have on the US economy are beginning to emerge.
According to CNN, Trump's plans to close the US-Mexico border "would disrupt the flow of $1.7 billion of goods daily to store shelves and factory floors". This would affect produce and products such as avocados, cars, and beer; something that the Trump administration has so far neglected to mention.
Nearly 90 per cent of the States' imported avocados come from Mexico, and growing concerns over a border shutdown has prompted one of the largest suppliers, Mission Produce, to warn that America could run out of the millennial fan-favourite snack in as little as three weeks.
What's more, according to the Census Bureau: Americans spend more than $4.6 billion worth of beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages every single year in Mexico alone - and all of those imports would be cut off if the border is closed.
Strawberries, tomatoes and bell peppers would also be in short supply. Of course, the disruption would also greatly affect farmers in the US as well, as producers of corn, soybeans and dairy export a great deal of their product south of the border.
"Just a few hours' delay can potentially ruin whatever is in those trucks," said the spokesman for the American Farm Bureau. According to him, $13.7 million worth of agricultural products travel across the border every day from just one port of entry in Nogales, Arizona.
The auto industry in America would also be heavily impacted.
Kristin Dziczek, the vice president of industry, labor and economics at the Center for Automotive Research, explained that around 16 percent of all auto parts used in the USA originate in Mexico.
"You can't sell cars with missing pieces," she said. "You've got to have them all. I see the whole industry shutdown within a week of a border closing."
Matt Blunt, the president of the American Automotive Policy Council added that: "Any action that stops commerce at the border would be harmful to the US economy, and in particular, the auto industry. Access to Mexico's marketplace and North American integration are critical to operations in the US."
"If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States throug [sic] our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week," Trump tweeted last week.
"We have the weakest, most pathetic laws," the president added on Friday, referencing immigration policy. "We have run out of space. We can't hold people anywhere. Mexico can stop it so easily."
Trump has been warned by various aides multiple times that his shutdown of the border would be "catastrophic", but he seems intent on compromising the economy for the sake of immigration issues.
