Trumps Tariffs Could Upend the Texas Miracle Texas Monthly [Video]

Texas has a long and complicated history with tariffs. Over its decade of existence, ending in 1846, the Republic of Texas generated more than half its income—almost $1.3 million—from import taxes. Efforts by the young nation’s lawmakers to enact new tariffs were often thwarted by presidential vetoes from the likes of Sam Houston and Anson Jones.

Most of today’s state officials have so far stayed silent about the new border taxes that their fellow Republican, President-elect Donald Trump, has vowed to impose on foreign nations, including Texas’s biggest trading partner, Mexico. Most economists warn that the proposed tariffs, combined with another of his major campaign promises—the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants—could hit Texas harder than most other states. These policies may kneecap two key legs of the state’s robust economy: low taxes and cheap, abundant labor.

“When you hear [Governor Greg] Abbott talk about Texas being willing to help Trump deport all these migrants, …