The Economic Side of Trump's Wall - Paper Example

Introduction

One of the biggest agenda of President Donald Trump during his election was to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico. If this wall could become a reality, it would be one of the most massive structure the United States has ever built. The border between Mexico and the United States stretches 3,200 km (1,989 miles) but the wall would not necessarily run throughout the border mainly because of the natural border that already exists, for instance, the Rio Grande. Nevertheless, to build a comprehensive wall, a length of about 1,000 miles will be covered. Considering the length and the height of the wall, it is certain that building it is not an easy task. Economically, there are many questions and factors to consider before the wall is constructed. Some of the major questions to ask are; who will fund the building of the wall, will Mexico contribute? What will be actions of United States if Mexico fails to contribute towards the building of the wall? Will the building of the wall lead to trade war among these two neighbors? And where will the materials and resources of building the wall come from? As much as the issue of immigration has dominated the debate of President Trump's wall, the economic cost is one aspect that must be analyzed and facts put out clear to see if it's the best decision for America.

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Definition and militarization of the US-Mexican border have multiple interpretations and meanings. Many now understand it as a greater enforcement of the border mainly because of security reasons and at times at the cost of increased human and civil rights violations (Meckler). In the last 30 years, US-Mexican border has been occasioned by rigorous surveillance with over 20,000 patrol officers patrolling the border and the use of high-technology surveillance equipment including military hardware and drones (Warren and Kerwin 124). Nevertheless, the most obvious cost of building the US-Mexican border is its physical construction.

The true price tag of building the wall is not clear though President Trump approximated it to be $12 billion. However, other economists' estimates show that the price of building the wall could rise up to $285 billion which if it is assumed the price will come from the United States' taxpayer, they will be required to contribute over $ 850 as the tax (Meckler). What is certain however is that many restrictions surrounding the wall building are not yet known for instance the kind of wall that is going to be built at specific areas considering that the border is very long and have varying terrain.

Some of the important questions that come up before the wall is built include whether the United States intends to hire lawyers who can negotiate the compensation to the initial landowners if they want to build the wall away from the stiff terrains around the border (Markon). This can also significantly increase the total price of building the wall. Additionally, it is also important to determine if the current estimation of building the wall also includes the cost that comes with hiring forensic auditors to evaluate which payments are done to Mexico comes from undocumented workers and the U.S citizen. During his campaign, president Trump promised to seize remittance that goes to Mexico to fund the wall. Economically, the United States taking away Mexico's remittances will not be in its best interest as it takes away a core trading partner (Martin 170). Furthermore, taking away this remittance is easier said and done as the implementation process can costly.

No matter what decision United States makes regarding the building of the wall, there will always be some economic impact. For instance, if the U.S decided to impose tariffs on Mexican goods, it would significantly affect retails from the United States (Markon). After China and Canada, Mexico comes in third as the third largest trader in the United States. Over 70 % of exports that Mexico makes enters the U.S. and though the U.S. has an upper hand in this trade, the partnership between the two nations is two way. Additionally, apart from Canada, the United States exports more goods to Mexico than any other country (Payan 15). This translates into billions of dollars traded each year between the two countries under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (Meckler). The big picture of this trade is that it not only has made the two countries grow economically, it has also created millions of jobs for both of them. According to (Brooker) about 5 million U.S. citizens depend on this trade between Mexico and the U.S. Therefore, creating a wall might disrupt this good relationship that has been going on for more than 23 years leading to job losses.

Additionally, when goods from Mexico are imposed with more tax from the U.S. government, this would, in turn, hurt the retailers from the U.S. As the price goods rise, the U.S. retailers will pass the burden to their consumers regardless of the political divide (Brooker). Goods such as vegetables and cars would certainly become more expensive to the US citizens. The same wall that United State build can end up hurting them economically instead of boosting them.

Mexico on its part can retaliate in an economic manner that can end up hurting the U.S. the idea of building a wall is not familiar among many Mexicans and many see it as an act of bad faith. Consequently, they may take actions such as boycotting some of the well-established U.S. companies in Mexico such as Starbucks and Walmart. Other companies such as automakers and manufacturers are well established within Mexico and they too could be affected. Such rebellious actions could end up hurting the companies in terms of shares and jobs and somehow affecting U.S. taxes and the economy in general. Even if the United States is superior economically and can win a trade war with Mexico, a trade war is usually not good for the economy.

The idea behind building the wall is to make America more secure and stop illegal migration within the Mexican border. In defense of the building the wall, president Trump recognizes the adverse effects that illegal immigrants who pass through the border pose to the U.S (Huber 215). Security is one major issue those who support the wall feel immigration brings. However, security is an issue that requires a partnership between both countries. If the wall creates more divide between the two nations, Mexico might decide to abandon the efforts towards enhancing security. This would, in turn, cost the U.S. more as it tries to combat security issues that could arise. Additionally, smugglers and other criminals might invent ways of digging tunnels that enter the U.S. consequently enhancing their criminal activities (Martin 166).

Conclusion

All in all, building the Trump wall is easier said than done and this is something majority citizen and the government knows. Nevertheless, President Trump is a man of many ideas that throughout his campaign, this is something he never gave up in. nevertheless, building such a huge wall have numerous economic impacts that if the country decides to continue with the idea must consider.

Work Cited

Brooker, Nathan. "The Real Cost Of Trump'S Wall". Ft.Com, 2018, https://www.ft.com/content/b8ea6bee-d66b-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e. Accessed 9 May 2018.

Huber, Lindsay Perez. "Make America Great again: Donald Trump, Racist Nativism and the Virulent Adherence to White Supremecy Amid US Demographic Change." Charleston L. Rev. 10 (2016): 215.

Markon, Jerry. "Trump says building a US-Mexico wall is 'easy.'But is it really?." The Washington Post (2015).

Martin, Philip L. "Election of Donald Trump and migration." Migration Letters 14.1 (2017): 161-171.

Meckler, Laura. "Trump Orders Wall at Mexican Border." Wall Street Journal (2017).

Payan, Tony. The Three US-Mexico Border Wars: Drugs, Immigration, and Homeland Security: Drugs, Immigration, and Homeland Security. ABC-CLIO, 2016.

Warren, Robert, and Donald Kerwin. "The 2,000 mile wall in search of a purpose: since 2007 Visa overstays have outnumbered undocumented border crossers by half a million." J. on Migration & Hum. Sec. 5 (2017): 124.