13 March 13-19, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents TARIFF WHIPLASH Texas’ massive Latino economy struggles with uncertainty as Trump dithers. BY MELANIE HERNANDEZ I n one corner, a young girl fills a tray with her favorite fresh Mexican sweet bread. A family 30 feet away orders food from the taquería before finding a seat in one of many booths. The meat market is all the way in the back of the store, where the butchers take orders while listening to their favorite Norteñas, a subgenre of re- gional Mexican music. Across the store, a woman sifts through avocados, looking for the ripest ones perfect for guacamole. She stops at the fruteria to order a fresh, in-season fruit salad before checking out at the cash register. This is but a typical day at La Michoacana Meat Market in Carrollton, an all-in-one Latino store. Most, if not all, of the grocery items in La Michoacana are from Mexico. “They like it here because they find all the products from their countries, and ... they find everything here at low prices,” says store manager Abelina Rodriguez. “Here, you can find everything from a taquería, a meat market and bakery. You don’t need to go to another place to buy something else; you can even buy ready-to-eat meals to share with the family.” But Rodriguez says she has noticed a drop in shoppers recently. She believes it is likely due to new immigration orders af- fecting the Latino community and fluctuat- ing tariff directives from President Donald Trump’s administration testing their limits. Most recently, the administration issued a 25% tax on all imports from Mexico and Canada that went into effect March 4, which Trump says in response to fentanyl trafficking at the northern and southern borders. But just two days after imposing those sweeping tariffs, Trump issued a one-month exemption for various goods coming from Mexico that fall under the United States- Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a free-trade pact that applies to roughly 50% of Mexican imports. This back-and-forth on tariffs comes as no surprise — it’s the second time Trump has backpedaled after threatening tariffs in nearly two months. This has left the Latino community and businesses wondering what will happen in another month and whether he will change his mind again. The constant fluctuation is giving com- panies and distributors tariff whiplash. “We have to be constantly monitoring what tariffs they are putting on the border and what Trump said; all of a sudden he puts it on, all of a sudden not anymore,” says Gi- bran Licona, director of operations for No- gales Produce Inc. “We had already gone through a month with them saying they were going to be applied, then all of a sud- den he says they were going to be applied in a month, which was this past Tuesday. Then they went into effect, and today we get news that they are going to pause the tariffs once again.” Nogales Produce Inc. is a full-line distrib- utor that sells produce, grocery items and restaurant supplies to over 2,000 businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, West Texas, Houston, San Antonio and five other states. While Nogales does not directly import goods from Mexico, the company monitors demand and works with agencies, like Vil- lanueva International LLC, a full-service in- ternational import and export brokerage agency that gets products across the border. Licona wants a straightforward plan so they can prepare for the future. “It would be very good to have clarity be- cause these tariffs affect everything, the en- tire chain, not only us but many companies, many businesses and if we want to continue doing business, we need to know the per- centage of the final tariff,” Licona says. “... Unfortunately, the final consumer will be af- fected because everyone will pay their 25% or whatever percentage is.” Mea Ahlberg, senior lecturer on econom- ics at Southern Methodist University, be- lieves that the tariffs, to some extent, have already started a trade war. “Tariffs are an old bargaining chip,” Ahl- berg says. “But pressed too far, they can boo- merang. They may, for instance, force trading partners to look to U.S. competitors like China or seek alliances that in the long run would be harmful to the U.S.” Ahlberg doesn’t anticipate immediate price fluctuations for consumers because of tariffs (or lack thereof), as the effect of pol- icy changes tends to lag. But threats alone can have an effect. “Markets could react faster if uncertainty and fear induce volatility. This will lead to higher prices for products such as car com- ponents, electronics and food, as well as shifts in the supply chain,” Ahlberg says. Even though Trump has paused tariffs for another 30 days, Licona says U.S. Cus- toms and Border Protection has already stopped grocery products like candy, canned goods, drinks, and detergents. Trump hon- oring the USMCA means imports like te- quila, beer, coffee, and all agriculture and produce should remain untaxed and free to move across the border. The pause on tariffs for USMCA goods expires on April 2, after which Trump has threatened another round of global tariffs. Nogales and other Latino businesses will have to raise prices to compensate for the added costs. Companies must decide whether to absorb the fees and cut costs elsewhere or pass the increase on to cus- tomers. | CITY OF ATE | t Dish Nathan Hunsinger De La Cream Fruteria in Irving has had to raise prices of their desserts to accomodate rising fruit costs. >> p14
