Jalisco rules out any impact on livestock from screwworm tariffs

Guadalajara, Jalisco. Despite the imposition of tariffs on tomatoes and the most recent U.S. warning about taxing Mexican livestock exports due to the growing presence of the screwworm, Jalisco—considered the country's agrifood giant—maintains its growth, and none of the investment projects for this year have been halted, stated Mauro Garza, the state's coordinator of economic growth and development.

"When the tariff situation became more critical, they (the investors) had some projects on hold for 2026 or 2027, but the 2025 project is underway. So, we've been working, and I think the federal government has done a good job with respect to its relationship with the United States," Garza Marín emphasized.

He emphasized that Jalisco maintains a permanent working group related to U.S. tariff policy to address and resolve any issues that arise related to Mexico's main trading partner.

"Today, there's the issue of the screwworm, and we've also been in contact with our Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. Although Jalisco isn't one of the main exporters, it is one of the main producers, and this could push up prices. These are the issues we're looking at, and as we've mentioned, we have a permanent roundtable on the tariffs because we know the conflict and that's how President Trump governs," he explained.

For his part, the director general of the Agency for Health, Safety, and Agrifood Quality (ASICA), Armando César López Amador, indicated that in response to the threat of the cattle screwworm plague spreading throughout the country, they are working in coordination with the federal government to contain it, and local experts are also collaborating with the states of southeastern Mexico to contain the disease.

"There's an alert; in fact, there's a national emergency plan published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, where Senasica (National Service of Health, Safety, and Agri-Food Quality) is putting us all on alert," López Amador explained.

Qualified inspectors

The director general of ASICA Jalisco added that "it's already in the country, it's advancing, and that's the threat, that it could reach the northern part of the country. The Federation is working there, and Jalisco, concerned and busy, in coordination with the Federation, for the first time, we were able to collaborate with qualified inspectors from Jalisco to support the battle being waged to contain this plague in the southern part of the country. The battle is currently underway there, in states like Chiapas, even Campeche and Tabasco."

He indicated that Jalisco is working to contain the plague through a human barrier of inspectors in the south of the country, as well as through an alert in this state and in areas bordering other states through checkpoints and inspections.

"There are inspectors who inspect the transit of live animals and patrol cars who could be on the lookout for any irregular movement of livestock to inspect each animal. It's a threat when it arrives here; what are we doing? We're trying to prevent and control it," he said.

Interviewed separately, Lorena Delgado, president of the Jalisco Agricultural and Agroindustrial Development Council (CDAAJ), said that the imposition of tariffs on Mexican tomatoes could have an impact on Jalisco producers, given that the state is the fourth largest national producer, only after Sinaloa, San Luis Potosí, and Michoacán, although she predicted that the measure could be reversed.

"The problem with tomatoes in the United States already happened in 2019, right during Donald Trump's first administration. He also imposed tariffs on tomatoes because they produce a lot of tomatoes from January to October, but not in December. Therefore, producers already know what will happen if they impose that tariff. We hope that, just as happened then, (President Trump) will back down from that measure," he said.

But for now, he admitted, "there is an impact on producers, because if we have an agreement or a treaty, you're counting on them receiving your product (tariff-free)."

Economic growth

Mauro Garza agreed that, based on the experience of Donald Trump's first administration, both Mexico and Jalisco maintained economic growth.

"So, it's not an issue that will be resolved in the short term, but rather one we have to learn to work with. But we also have the experience of President Trump's previous administration, where economic growth was positive for our country, and in the case of Jalisco, it was also positive," he added.

"At the end of the first quarter, we are second in the nation in terms of growth and job creation, and we continue working on that goal; we will await the results as April draws to a close. Regarding tariffs and exports, many of the projects have already been established," he emphasized.