00:00I'm from Boston. We go to Washington now to continue talking about U.S. midterm elections, about as well everything
00:06that is at stake in this contest.
00:09And now we are joined by our correspondent, Jorge Gestoso, at this hour from Washington.
00:14Go ahead, Jorge, we hear you. Pleasure to have you once more.
00:21Alejandra, definitely we are in the countdown, running for tomorrow midterms elections.
00:27And we have the honor to have with us the economy, Alicia Garcia.
00:33Alicia, thanks very much for joining us.
00:35No, thank you for the invitation.
00:36Definitely, economy is a key issue at the moment and at the ballot box.
00:42And among economy, tariffs.
00:45Tell us how tariffs have been played in the American economy and on the regular electoral American people.
00:53Of course, I think that we have to make a precision first and to make very clear what is a
00:59tariff, because there are a lot of narratives around it.
01:02So a tariff is any tax that is put on one product, any product that comes to the United States
01:09that is not manufactured in the United States.
01:11So if you pay a tariff and the tariff is low, your cost to the consumer will be low.
01:16And if the tariff is high, the consumer will absorb this cost.
01:20So with that, we can start our conversation.
01:25We've heard a lot about tariffs, and this is not a new concept.
01:28Tariffs have been since George Washington.
01:30He was the first one that introduced this bill.
01:33But actually, they're not intended to capture resources.
01:40They're intended to regulate and to keep safe the production of the country.
01:48We are in an area that we need to import and export a lot of products.
01:53So it's very hard that we can have in the United States all the products and to shield all our
02:01frontiers and then start producing everything.
02:03Because starting, for example, from avocados, it will be impossible to produce them.
02:08But I think right now people are facing this struggle with the high price, with inflation.
02:16And this is something that definitely will be an influence in the vote in this election.
02:23Most definitely the thing is we are being hit in our wallet.
02:29And many, many people say Americans vote with the hand on her pocket on their wallet.
02:37On the other hand, people are saying the other side of the story is that it's 180 degrees policy
02:49policy because the U.S. historically has been an open market, preaching openness.
02:57And suddenly, according to this new policy, we have become a very defensive, protective area.
03:04So it has been a switch, a shift in the American way to treat the local economy.
03:12In a way, it is.
03:14But, for example, Mexico has the highest rate in exportations.
03:19And right now we have an exportation that is amazingly for data centers.
03:25And that, it's a rack that they are using in data centers and has zero tariff tax.
03:34So this is something to consider.
03:36I mean, it is a good thing to negotiate other stuff with other countries.
03:43But within the economy, the cost for the consumer is being really harsh.
03:47It is the Yale University just published a study, and they are considering that for the end of
03:54the year, every household would absorb at least $1,100 extra.
04:00And if the gas continues spiking, it will be another $1,000 extra.
04:05And it's, of course, like hitting the low-income families.
04:08So, according to percentages, what is the percentage of the American people agree with the imposing
04:17of tariffs of Trump or against?
04:20Well, actually, the polls are very tight.
04:23But within the economy, it is around 84% that are not approving the thing, I mean, this concept
04:31about tariffs because the economy has not been good for everybody.
04:36Actually, there's a lot of struggle, and there is a pessimism within this.
04:42Trump was using tariffs only for economic reasons or also for political purposes.
04:49For example, in the case of Canada, you don't follow what I want, impose your tariffs.
04:54Lula da Silva, I don't like him, I impose him tariffs.
04:59Was it also a political tool?
05:00I mean, it may be, I'm not sure how this can work.
05:06But, of course, if you are selling something and you have this pressure because your economy
05:13needs that sell, you will be willing to negotiate other aspects of your relationship with other countries.
05:21Do you believe that if the Republicans keep the control of the Congress just behind us,
05:30it's going to continue their policies?
05:33Is there some indications that he, meaning Donald Trump, and the Congress are ready to continue
05:39that line?
05:42Well, actually, if they keep the Congress, it will be the same.
05:47And it's important to know that even though if the Democrats, they reach and they have this
05:56turnover, the elections, they will not have that two-thirds that they need.
06:02Neither of the parties will have that two-thirds to reach the veto of the president.
06:06But the Supreme Court has made, like, some changes.
06:10And with these changes, they have established that the president is not allowed to impose
06:16this tariffs.
06:17So maybe if they have this balance, they will be, of course, at least some hearings and opposition
06:28to all these impositions.
06:31And what is the reaction of the people in Mexico, the government and the Mexicans, the people
06:38of Mexico, regarding tariffs?
06:40Well, right now, for Mexico, it's been very beneficial because, as I told you, they have
06:45a record.
06:46We have almost like 600 billion imports.
06:51So it's a record in all the years.
06:54And with these importations for the data centers, with no tariffs, actually, it's very beneficial.
07:02The bad thing is relying on one product.
07:05And do you see that in Latin America, what is the reaction of the different countries, different
07:21reactions in Latin America regarding tariffs?
07:24Yes, of course.
07:25Yes, of course.
07:26Well, I think every country in Latin America will be impacted by tariffs.
07:33It's not beneficial.
07:34We have agreements.
07:35We hope that we will negotiate.
07:38And Mexico knows that he cannot go alone to negotiate because Canada did it, and it was
07:43not good for them.
07:44So I think they will keep talking, and the other countries also.
07:49But there is a factor that the markets are not closed right now.
07:55So, for example, Brazil is selling also to China, and there are other markets that are
08:00opening.
08:01So I think the United States needs to be careful with these markets because these sales can be
08:09boosted to another region.
08:11So I think the United States needs to be careful with the markets.
08:12Thank you very much for joining us.
08:15No, thank you so much.
08:16We were talking with the economist Alicia Garcia, and especially regarding the economy, but
08:24especially on tariffs and the impact in the American life and also in these coming midterm
08:32elections.
08:33We get back to you, Alejandra.
08:36Thank you for joining us.
08:37Thank you for joining us.
