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SALT LAKE CITY — As the Trump administration works to develop a plan to pay for the Mexican border wall, a Utah business official fears the possible effect of worsening trade relations between the two countries could significantly hurt the Beehive State.
Utah is among the top exporting states in the nation, ranking No. 4 in export growth in 2015, according to the World Trade Center Utah. But potential policies under consideration by the White House could stymie that positive momentum.
This week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order paving the way for construction of a barrier wall along the entire southern border with Mexico. The administration also floated the idea of changing foreign trade policies to help pay for the multibillion dollar project.
Such a restructuring would likely mean higher prices for goods and services imported from Mexico, analysts said. For Utah, it could also mean potentially losing millions of dollars in trade that has been increasingly robust over the past decade.
Since 2006, exports from Utah to Mexico have risen from $250 million to more than $850 million in 2015, said Derek Miller, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah. In 2015, Mexico was the state’s fourth largest trading partner, he noted — behind the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Canada.
“Exporting goods from Utah is really just importing money and growing jobs,” he said, speaking Friday on KSL Newsradio's “The Doug Wright Show.” The risk of damaging that relationship through onerous national trade policy would be particularly troubling for Utah businesses and the state’s economy, he added.
Miller acknowledged that border security is a critical element that the country needs to adequately address. However, he said particular attention should also be paid to how the administration interacts and negotiates with its key international trading partners.
