President Donald Trump’s tariffs have been in effect for a year, and while many states have seen a downward trend in economic growth, New Mexico has experienced a large increase in trade.For the past year, the tariff agenda of Trump has been a topic of debate mostly along party lines. The president strongly believes in using tariffs to protect industries and workers. In New Mexico, the amount of goods coming in and out of the state has increased. According to a study conducted by Finch Ratings, New Mexico’s exports have increased by 27 percent and imports by 34 percent over the past year, ranking fourth in the nation for growth in both categories. “That’s not typical. Because on average, the growth in imports and exports was just right around less than 5 percent,” said Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economics at Finch Ratings.Sonola suspects that much of this growth is due to the boom in artificial intelligence, particularly in Dona Ana County, where there has been significant growth in data centers and industry.”Every time we recruit a new company, that company is most likely exporting to Mexico or bringing in finished product to a distribution center in Santa Teresa and sending it to the world,” said Jerry Pacheco, head of the Border Industrial Association. Despite the growth, Pacheco does not credit tariffs for the increase. “I thought our exports were going to go down because of the tariffs this last year,” Pacheco said. “My opinion is we’d have even higher numbers in both exports and imports if we wouldn’t have had to deal with the tariffs, because that’s certainly thrown a monkey wrench into the logistics and trade for a while.”Sonola noted that Trump’s policies had little effect on the AI industry because semiconductors and electronic goods were largely exempted from the tariffs. “Some sort of ecosystem is being built in that part of the country around AI, around data centers,” Sonola said. “So I think this is definitely to me, the beginning of more to come. What we’re seeing is probably still just the foundation of what’s to come because AI is here to stay.”The economic development in New Mexico is seen as a positive change. “It’s beautiful economic development. It’s pure economic development when we bring something into the state that did not exist before, and we create revenue, which helps individuals in the state create wealth,” Pacheco said.
President Donald Trump’s tariffs have been in effect for a year, and while many states have seen a downward trend in economic growth, New Mexico has experienced a large increase in trade.
For the past year, the tariff agenda of Trump has been a topic of debate mostly along party lines. The president strongly believes in using tariffs to protect industries and workers.
In New Mexico, the amount of goods coming in and out of the state has increased. According to a study conducted by Finch Ratings, New Mexico’s exports have increased by 27 percent and imports by 34 percent over the past year, ranking fourth in the nation for growth in both categories.
“That’s not typical. Because on average, the growth in imports and exports was just right around less than 5 percent,” said Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economics at Finch Ratings.
Sonola suspects that much of this growth is due to the boom in artificial intelligence, particularly in Dona Ana County, where there has been significant growth in data centers and industry.
“Every time we recruit a new company, that company is most likely exporting to Mexico or bringing in finished product to a distribution center in Santa Teresa and sending it to the world,” said Jerry Pacheco, head of the Border Industrial Association.
Despite the growth, Pacheco does not credit tariffs for the increase.
“I thought our exports were going to go down because of the tariffs this last year,” Pacheco said. “My opinion is we’d have even higher numbers in both exports and imports if we wouldn’t have had to deal with the tariffs, because that’s certainly thrown a monkey wrench into the logistics and trade for a while.”
Sonola noted that Trump’s policies had little effect on the AI industry because semiconductors and electronic goods were largely exempted from the tariffs.
“Some sort of ecosystem is being built in that part of the country around AI, around data centers,” Sonola said. “So I think this is definitely to me, the beginning of more to come. What we’re seeing is probably still just the foundation of what’s to come because AI is here to stay.”
The economic development in New Mexico is seen as a positive change.
“It’s beautiful economic development. It’s pure economic development when we bring something into the state that did not exist before, and we create revenue, which helps individuals in the state create wealth,” Pacheco said.