Analyzing Economic Costs of the U.S.-Mexico Border Slowdown

In early April 2019, the U.S. reassigned U.S.-Mexico border officers to deal with migrants, boosting wait times and frustrations at international checkpoints. The border slowdown is having economic consequences, according to a report issued by the Perryman Group.

As a border state, Texas has been hard-hit by the slowdown. The Perryman Group, an economic consulting company, estimates that if increased delays and structural issues reduce trade by one-third over a three-month period, losses to the state would total nearly $32.6 billion in gross product, and 292,566 job years, when adding in a multiplier effect.

“Over the course of a single quarter, this . . . would represent a 9.5% drop in output, and a 9.8% drop in employment, including significant disruptions in local logistics and retail activity,” the report commented. One reason? Such slowdowns interrupt border supply chains.

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