Agriculture groups and elected officials are sounding the alarm after the Department of Homeland Security, without warning, closed two of the six key rail crossings into Mexico on Dec. 17, holding up millions of tons of agricultural products to the United States’ leading ag export destination.
The abrupt closure of the El Paso and Eagle Pass rail crossing left 10,000 railcars stranded. DHS officials did not say when they would reopen. The Associated Press speculated that the closure might have happened to free up overwhelmed Customs and Border Patrol agents to handle increased surges of illegal migrants. In recent days, more than 10,000 illegal migrants a day have been crossing the border, and the contentious issue plays a big part in election-year politics.
Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, was critical of President Joe Biden and the DHS Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, for the closure. “This ill-advised decision stops nearly 45% of the rail cars passing between the U.S. and Mexico and leaves more than $200 million of daily commerce stranded on the track,” Marshall said in a press release.
“This train doesn’t just stop at Eagle Pass. This train doesn’t just impact Texas,” Rep. Tony Gonzalez, a Republican member of Congress who represents the affected region, said Dec. 20 during a news conference reported by Forbes magazine. “This train impacts all of America, goods that are going all over America.”
U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers joined several other U.S. agricultural organizations in signing a letter encouraging U.S. Customs and Border Protection to reopen rail crossings in El Paso and Eagle Pass for trade as quickly as possible. Mexico is historically the top export market for U.S. wheat, with average annual commercial sales of almost 132 million bushels. A substantial volume of U.S. wheat is shipped by rail every year and it is estimated that at least 13 million bushels of wheat, valued at more than $114 million, per year moves through the rail corridors at the El Paso and Eagle Pass crossings that are now closed. Mexican customers use rail to import U.S. wheat from as far away as the Northern Plains and loaded trains are currently waiting to move.
“This unexpected disruption puts those sales at risk, as well as the positive trading relationship our industry has built over decades as a reliable supplier of high-quality U.S. wheat to Mexican flour millers and their commercial bakery customers,” the two wheat groups said in a news release.
Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, noted the importance of soybean industry to Mexico.
“In 2022, $3.64 billion of U.S. soybeans were exported to Mexico (No. 2 market), $863 million of U.S. soybean meal was exported to Mexico No. 2 market), and $117 million of U.S soybean oil was exported to Mexico (No. 4 market), according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture). The vast majority of those shipments occur via rail.”
The National Corn Growers Association is increasing pressure on U.S. officials to reopen the recently closed Eagle Pass and El Paso rail crossings into Mexico. “These closures will have an immediate and prolonged impact on corn exports to Mexico, one of our closest and largest trading partners, during a period of high demand,” NCGA President Harold Wolle said Dec. 21. “We urge our federal officials to resolve this issue quickly so the flow of goods between the two countries can resume as soon as possible and minimize the damage that has already been done by these abrupt closures.” Twenty-five percent of U.S. corn exports into Mexico go through El Paso and Eagle Pass.
David Murray can be reached at [email protected].
