The cost of building a wall along the Mexican border has been a source of debate for many people all over the world. Trump promised he would make Mexico pay for all the cost of its building, something that the Mexican president, Enrique Nieto strongly objected (Crocker, 2017). Trump had two plans that the project would get funds from their neighbors, which included direct or indirect funding. The direct one would result from a case where an agreement was made by the two governments, while the indirect one would include imposing taxes on Mexican imports. Given that the Mexican government is not ready for the direct funding, the only option remaining is the indirect one.
When imposing taxes on goods and services, it is usually not easy to determine the ultimate person who bears the tax burden. First, the budget for executing the plan to build the wall would need an approval of the Congress to use the taxpayers money in the hope of future compensation (Sherman, 2017). Chances of the cost not being compensated are very high because of the remaining method of making Mexico bear the cost. If the cost would be sourced, by imposing heavy taxes on Mexican goods and services, the companies paying the high cost of the goods may decide to transfer the cost to the American consumers. When the tax burden is transferred, the cost of living will increase, and the American taxpayers would become the ultimate bearers of the cost of building the wall. In another option, the business people can opt to transfer part of the tax and pay the rest, in such a case, the US citizens still meet the cost of building the wall.
When importing commodities from a country to the other, it is the duty of the buyer to pay the customs duty. In this case, the American companies importing goods from the Mexican goods would bear the cost of higher customs duty once they are imposed. The only effect that businesses in Mexico would have is reduced demand from the States because of a high cost of goods (Crocker, 2017). The inability of the US government to be able to charge taxes the Mexican manufacturers and exporters to the country directly means there are lower chances of making the Mexican government pay for the cost of building the wall.
The US taxpayers would also meet the cost of hiring more agents to prevent immigrants from entering the US (Pasha-Robinson, 2017). The agents would be federal government employees paid using federal funds sourced from the taxpayers. It would also be difficult to charge the Mexican government directly to pay for the agents. The coming up with increased taxes on Mexican commodities would mean transferring of the burden to final consumers at the US just like the building of the wall. Therefore, the cost would be met by the US taxpayers.
The building of the Mexican wall will affect the good relationship the US currently enjoys with the Mexico. Further, efforts of making Mexico pay for the wall either directly or indirectly will hurt the way the two countries relate (Pasha-Robinson, 2017). If taxes are imposed, the US importers will prefer to get commodities from other countries where taxes are lower, therefore leading to lower revenues in the Mexico companies. Lesser trading between the countries would affect the Mexican economy given the extensive trading activities that take place between the counties. Politically, the two nations will differ in ideologies, and the existing efforts of working together in the fighting off drug trafficking may have a negative effect.
Once the building of the wall has been completed and more security agents to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the US, their number annually may reduce. However, it cannot stop illegal immigrants from entering the country altogether. The main reason for the failure of the wall from totally eliminating immigration is because there exist means one can overcome the barrier into the country. For example, one can use a ladder to go over a wall or construct an underground tunnel. Also, the wall may not cover the whole area because of natural demands such as rivers and possible floods. Though there is a possibility of the wall failing to eliminate immigration fully, it will assist in its reduction because it would reduce the ease the illegal immigrants experienced earlier. The presence of increased agents would also act as a back-up for the wall, and it would help in minimizing the chances of using supporting facilities such as a ladder to go over the wall.
The narcotics that will enter the US may not reduce after constructing the wall because creative methods used by drug lords and other traffickers (LaSusa, 2016). For years drugs have been crossing the border bypassing many security checks. The construction of the wall would not end the creative nature of the traffickers but will present them with a new opportunity of being innovative. The possible weak relationship between the US and the Mexican governments would even lead to increased drug trafficking after its construction.
References
Crocker, L. (2017). Who Will Really End Up Paying for Trumps Mexico Wall?. The Daily Beast. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/25/who-will-really-end-up-paying-for-trump-s-mexico-wall.html
LaSusa, M. (2016). 5 Clever Ways Mexico Cartels Move Drugs across US Border. Insight Crime. Retrieved from http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/5-clever-ways-mexico-cartels-move-drugs-over-us-border
Pasha-Robinson, L. (2017). Donald Trump Budget Shows US Taxpayers Will Pay $4bn for Mexico Border Wall. The Indepedent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-budget-us-taxpayers-pay-mexico-border-wall-4-billion-bill-cuts-a7633551.html
Sherman, E. (2017). Americans Will Pay For Trump's Wall Even With A Mexican Import Tax. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2017/01/26/americans-will-pay-for-trumps-wall-even-with-a-mexican-import-tax/#dcff79166995
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