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As President Trump moves to enact his campaign proposals on international trade, Hispanic leaders are worried Latino workers could be the first to feel the effects.
Many of those workers live in states and are employed by industries dependent on exports, and leaders say upending those ties could be devastating.
Of the 57 million Latinos in the United States, about 25 million live in California and Texas, two states whose economies rely heavily on exports to North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners.
Trump’s populist campaign message, though, bashed international trade pacts which he said harmed U.S. workers. And his pick to head the Commerce Department, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, vowed last week that renegotiating NAFTA will be the administration’s top priority.
“NAFTA is logically the first thing for us to deal with,” Ross said in testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee.
“I am not anti-trade, I am pro trade,” he emphasized. “But I’m pro sensible trade –– not trade that is to the disadvantage of the American worker and to the American manufacturing community.”
Such comments have stirred concerns on both sides of the border that Trump could spark a trade war with Mexico.
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To read full article: http://thehill.com/latino/315538-hispanic-leaders-wary-of-trumps-trade-plans
