Senators Say Tariffs Not Answer to Migration Problem
The top Democrat and top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee agree that the volume of migrants coming from Central America is a problem, and that tariffs on Mexican goods aren't a great way to solve it. The two were speaking at a June 12 program at the Atlantic Council about the tariffs on Mexican imports that were averted last weekend.
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Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said his previous career as the owner of a manufacturing company taught him about supply chains. He said that it makes sense to use lower-wage countries for labor-intensive processes, and for Americans to integrate those components into a higher-value product. "We literally do not have enough workers for dairy farmers and for manufacturers" in Wisconsin, he said, adding, "you literally have billions of people around the world who are underutilized."
Even when companies do all their manufacturing overseas, you still have engineering and administrative jobs in the U.S., he said. Johnson said he understands that some communities were hurt when their manufacturing jobs went to lower-wage countries, but becoming "Fortress America" is not the answer. He said to look at South Carolina. "They were really devastated by textiles moving to Asia. Now they're building Boeing jets and BMWs ... at a whole lot higher wages."
He defended NAFTA, saying the only "giant sucking sound" was that of exports leaving the U.S. "I think it's in America's interest that Mexico's economy is strong." He said 10, 15 or 20 years ago, most of the illegal immigration was Mexicans coming to work. That's not happening now, because of the economic development of Mexico's North. "That's a good thing," he said.
Johnson said his company exported to at least 20 countries, and whenever he had a big customer outside the U.S., that customer urged him to open a plant in that country. If the U.S. puts a 25 percent tariff permanently on a critical input for a U.S. manufacturer, "you pretty much force them to move their manufacturing overseas," he said.
Johnson said because unemployment is so low in the U.S., it needs "a more robust legal immigration system" to get more workers.
Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., agreed that Mexicans are no longer coming in large numbers because they've found economic opportunity at home. And he said that the large majority of migrants from Central America are coming from Honduras and Guatemala, not El Salvador. He said that if the U.S. wants to solve the problem, it should help those countries fight corruption and crime. But he also noted that the drought in agrarian parts of Guatemala and Honduras is pushing families to move.