Gov. JB Pritzker wrapped up a four-day trip to Mexico City on Wednesday, hopeful a trade mission to Mexico will yield new economic development in Illinois, even as tariffs threaten the stability of the United States’ global trade.
Speaking to reporters on a call Wednesday, Pritzker outlined a series of meetings he had with Mexican business leaders exploring setting up new operations in Illinois.
But Pritzker’s trip concluded just as Trump was set to announce new tariffs on goods and countries around the world.
“Here in Mexico, there is deep concern,” Pritzker said. “Let’s start with just the concern that the tariffs seem so broad-based and not well negotiated or thought out that they will potentially destroy some businesses in Mexico that U.S. companies rely upon.”
Pritzker said Mexican officials told him and others in Illinois’ 70-person delegation that businesses need stability and certainty about America’s trade policy.
“Over the past few days, I’ve heard a consistent message from Mexican public officials and business leaders and the business owners that the U.S. federal government must reestablish stability and consistency in the U.S.-Mexico relationship,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker acknowledged tariffs could hurt Illinois’ business recruitment efforts as well.
“The uncertainty that we’ve heard over and over again in the discussions with our Mexican counterparts is going to lead to them pulling back,” Pritzker predicted about the tariffs.
Even existing Illinois businesses such as auto manufacturers Ford, Stellantis and Rivian will be harmed by tariffs on auto parts, the governor argued. President Donald Trump is hoping the tariffs will encourage businesses to set up more operations in the United States to avoid the tariffs.
Pritzker said tariffs can be effective when they’re “targeted” to balance out trade deficits, but the wide scope of Trump’s plan will just end up costing Americans more and injecting more uncertainty into businesses.
“When you talk about raising tariffs, to say you’re going to put a tariff on everything from a country doesn’t take into account that you’re trying to have some specific outcomes,” Pritzker said. “Not to raise costs and inflation on American families, but rather to perhaps equalize trade deficits. And you can do that with, again, a targeted focus on a product or a set of products.”
Pritzker signed a cooperation agreement with Mexico state Gov. Delfina Gómez Álvarez on Monday that emphasizes the strong ties between Illinois and Mexico and encourages cooperation on key industries for both governments in areas such as manufacturing, agriculture and finance.
Illinois has had a long relationship with Mexico in the years since Gov. Jim Thompson signed the first bilateral agreement between the state of Illinois and state of Mexico in 1990, which was reaffirmed by Gov. Pat Quinn in 2013.
“I’ve made international trade missions a central part of my economic mission” –JB Pritzker
Mexico was Illinois’ second-largest export market in 2024 with $32 billion worth of goods being sent to the country. Another $19 billion worth of Mexican goods came to Illinois that year, making the country Illinois’ third-largest import market.
Latinos have also been the state’s fastest-growing population in recent decades — up 45% since 2000, according to research by the University of Illinois Chicago.
The Illinois delegation met with energy companies interested in establishing production facilities in Illinois and a retail business trying to grow their presence in Mexican American communities, among others, Pritzker said.
Pritzker’s trip to Mexico City is the latest international economic development trip the governor has taken since he took office in 2019. Other trips have included Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom.
“I’ve made international trade missions a central part of my economic mission,” Pritzker said. “It is part of my job as governor to be the chief marketing officer for Illinois and to pitch companies and investors on why Illinois is the best state in the U.S. to do business in.”
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
