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For more than 15 years, Juan Alvarado has owned a small shoe manufacturing company in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico’s capital, for the past 15 years. However, he is being forced to consider diversifying into other sectors or simply shutting down his business because of the current political and trade tensions in US-Mexico relations, as well as tariff-related disruptions.

Alvarado stated to Al Jazeera that he would typically employ up to 25 people, but he has since been forced to reduce that number to 15. You can’t hold on either way because you’re up against a wall. And everything depends on the amount of money.

After President Claudia Sheinbaum and Donald Trump agreed to a 90-day extension, which is scheduled to expire on October 31st, negotiations are raging about Mexico’s tariff rate. Mexico is still subject to a 25% tariff on cars, a 50% tariff on steel, aluminum, and copper, and a 25% tariff on anything that is not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) 2020 Free Trade Agreement.

The US’s tariffs on other countries are seen as a benefit for Mexico’s top trading partner as it struggles to gain a stronger foothold in areas like footwear, which has traditionally faced declining competition from Asian nations for decades.

The State of Guanajuato (CICEG)’s Chamber of the Footwear Industry recognizes the volatility that US tariffs can cause, but Juan Carlos Cashat Usabiaga, president of the organization, claims that Mexico is currently being favored because some of its exports are covered by USMCA.

He told Al Jazeera, “I truly believe that these tariffs being imposed on other nations are advantageous.” You can still export to the United States while adhering to the USMCA regulations, if you speak exclusively of footwear. That is, you will receive zero percent tariffs if you follow the rules. In contrast to other countries that are subject to tariffs of 20, 30, 40, or 50%, our nation is really very competitive.

Trump’s tariffs, which aim to boost the country’s economy, have had a negative impact. Small business owners like Alvarado claim that their investments are being hampered by the current geopolitical environment and inflation, while others in Mexico view these disruptions as a window of opportunity.

For a US-based export company, Alvarado’s business used to produce shoes. Despite USMCA, demand has decreased as a result of uncertainty surrounding tariffs, which has forced Alvarado to halt all orders.

Production has been stopped for the moment. According to him, they were producing about 2, 000 pairs of shoes per week, of which Alvarado was supplying about 2, 000 pairs. That really helped my company, she said. ]But] now they are making 800, 700 pairs”.

Alvarado has recently expanded a new sales channel by mailing shoes directly to US customers in addition to manufacturing for larger companies. Following the US government’s decision to end the “de minimis” exemption, which allowed packages worth less than $800 to enter the US tariff-free, Mexico also suspended package shipments.

Imports from China

More than 75% of Mexico’s production is concentrated in Guanajuato, making it the ninth-largest producer of footwear worldwide. According to Cashat, Chinese dumping practices and importations have had a significant impact on the sector.

According to Cashat, “We’ve seen a shocking decline in production and jobs, which has an impact on the GDP of the sector.”

214 million pairs of shoes were produced in Mexico last year. Production reached 134 million pairs by the end of August this year, according to CICEG’s data, which came from Mexico’s national statistics agency. By the end of August, the number of workers in the sector had dropped by 411 from a year earlier, to 96, 929.

The IMMEX program, which was introduced in 2006 to facilitate the temporary import of materials intended for re-exportation after processing, has recently been withdrawn by the Mexican government. The improper use of the program to import finished goods, especially shoes and textiles from China, has for decades caused unfair competition and tax evasion in Mexican businesses, as well as decimating the local economy.

According to Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s economic secretary, shoe production decreased by 12.8 percent between 2019 and 2024, largely as a result of companies’ poor IMMEX program use. The temporary pause on imported finished shoes is intended to boost national production, combat contraband, and safeguard the livelihoods of 130, 000 direct and many more indirect employees, according to Ebrard.

Mexico also revealed its intention to impose its own tariffs on certain imports from nations without free trade agreements, including China. These actions are a part of Plan Mexico, a national strategy intended to boost economic growth and advance Mexico’s position in global value chains.

These tariffs and the IMMEX pause are significant incentives for the industry to compete on an equal playing field, according to Luis Rodriguez Tirado, CEO of Hormas El Arbol, a company that has been producing shoes for 90 years.

“We can compete with any other nation,” the statement read. I’m okay with them beating us, but only on equal terms, he said.

Some analysts see these measures as merely a response to the intense pressure the Mexican government is facing from Washington, DC, as opposed to as a genuine effort to stop illegal imports.

To support their businesses and make a living, workers in Mexico’s vast informal sector rely heavily on cheap Chinese goods.

According to Professor Renato Balderrama of the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE), it is difficult for any government to “clean up customs,” despite good intentions, because goods like shoes and textiles frequently enter illegally.

“Mexico’s economy is largely unorganized, accounting for half of its.” Therefore, he continued, “people either starve or sell drugs if you block that income.”

Balderrama added that Mexico needs to diversify its exports, particularly in Asia.

The Pacific Rim and South Asia are the two markets where growth has been and will continue to grow. And this is when we are breaking up with China and growing more dependent on the US.

manufactured in Mexico

The shoe manufacturer Alvarado describes Chinese imports as a “cancer” that has been affecting the sector. He adds that due to the involved governmental bureaucracy and a lack of financial support, small business owners are having more trouble navigating these challenging times.

Plan Mexico appears promising on paper, but experts and industry insiders concur that its success depends largely on its financial support and integral implementation.

According to Balderrama, “the strategy has yet to be fully realized” and needs to be given the resources needed for the enormous task that lies ahead.

However, according to Cashat, it is preferable to implement an integral plan to recover what has been lost in recent years rather than to start from scratch. It has a lot to offer, according to the industry. Companies are currently operating at about 55% of their production capacity, he continued.

Rodriguez agrees that the footwear industry needs to be restructured despite recent government initiatives. Priorities should be given to small and medium-sized businesses, including promoting and strengthening them, as well as addressing the informal sector.

In order for those under investigation to become formal and have better funding and planning, he said, “it would be necessary to include those informal businesses that are being evaluated.”

Alvarado’s business was robbed a year and a half ago. Organized crime and gang activity are present in Guanajuato, which poses significant security challenges. These issues cause theft, extortion, and reduced sales for both small and medium-sized businesses. He requested government funding for microbusinesses, but after learning that the application process would take more than a year, he was forced to take out a bank loan to pay it back and keep operating.

I ventured to the nearby Twix Cafe, a coworking space for students and freelancers, on Sunday as my family and I departed from the tent in az-Zawayda in the center of Gaza Strip. Ten days had passed since the “ceasefire” had been declared, so I figured it must be okay for me to leave. I was hoping to leave my old life and start living again.

When we heard the thunder of an explosion, my brother and I were almost at the cafe, it was a well-known noise. The Twix Cafe entrance was struck by an Israeli drone.

I froze. I believed that this was the order; I had to take my place. I’m going to die in this conflict.

Three people were killed, and several others were hurt. We may have been among the casualties if my brother and I had earlier left my family’s tent a short while earlier.

My family became increasingly anxious as the news became widely known, calling us repeatedly. Their attempts to reach us failed despite the weak signal. Only when we returned to the tent could we comfort our mother.

What kind of “ceasefire” is this, I wondered to myself? More so was my fear than my anger.

Many of us dared to hope when the ceasefire agreement came into force and foreign leaders informed us that the conflict was over. We anticipated that the explosions would finally end so that we could start rebuilding our shattered lives without fear.

But the Israeli occupation leaves no such hope. The conflict never truly ends. At least 45 people were killed and many more injured when the Israeli army bombed Twix Cafe that day, as well as bombing dozens of other locations throughout the Gaza Strip.

Since the ceasefire’s implementation, there has only been one day where someone has died. Israel continues to kill every day, and no day has gone by without a casualty. Since the alleged ceasefire was declared, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed.

11 members of the Abu Shaaban family were cited as being present. The mass bombing took place on October 18, the day before the massacre. The Abu Shaabans were riding in one vehicle as they attempted to return to their home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood. Sufian, Samar, Ihab, and Randa, as well as seven children, aged 10, Anas, 8, 12, Nasser, 13, Jumana, 10, Ibrahim, 6, and Mohammed, five, were all killed by an Israeli bomb.

Israel refers to this as a “ceasefire.”

As the massive bombardment began on Sunday, panic and insecurity spread throughout the Strip. People rushed to the markets to get as much food as they could before the war and the return of starvation.

It was heartbreaking to watch how people’s minds exploded into images of food in the middle of the bombs. We seem to have lost the assurance that food will be on the table tomorrow for the rest of us.

And yes, we are still required to purchase our food because Israel bombs us in violation of the “ceasefire” and withholds the aid it authorized. Every day, at least 600 truckloads of aid were scheduled to enter Gaza. Since the ceasefire ended on October 11 and only 15% of what was promised, only 986 aid trucks have entered Gaza, according to the Gaza Media Office. Only 530 of the World Food Programme’s (WFP) trucks were permitted inside. There are 6, 000 waiting to enter UNRWA; however, none of them.

A WFP spokesperson stated yesterday that while no large aid convoys have reportedly entered Gaza City, Israel has yet to grant the organization permission to use Salah al-Din Street. Israel continues to starve Gaza’s northern region.

Our only access point to the rest of the world, the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, is still closed. We don’t know when it will reopen, when thousands of injured people will be able to cross for urgent medical care, when families that have been torn apart will be reunited, and when those who love Gaza, those who have waited so long to return, will finally be able to do so.

By now, it is obvious that Israel is operating this “ceasefire” as a switch, allowing it to be turned on and off as it pleases. We were back under heavy bombardment on Sunday, and it was “ceasefire” once more on Monday. As if nothing had happened, as if no families had been destroyed or that no 45 people had been massacred. Our lives are treated as though they are meaningless, which is devastating. Knowing that Israel can resume mass murder whenever it wants, without warning, without justification, is heart wrenching.

A moment of silence that can end at any time is all that this ceasefire serves as, in our current understanding of an endless war. We will endure a murderous occupier’s hand until the world finally acknowledges and implements its legal protections. We will continue to see Israel’s never-ending killing spree as headlines until then.

Millions of low-income Americans could lose access to a monthly benefit that pays for food if the US government shutdown continues.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, provides money for about 42 million people. In a letter from October 10 to October 10, the Department of Agriculture warned that the program would run out of money if benefits were to be paid for in November.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins repeated a false healthcare talking point on X on October 16th, saying that Democrats put their political agenda before food security for American families. Shameful .

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced subsidies for uninsured Americans can be extended as part of the approval process for the government shutdown, but Republicans and Democrats disagree on whether or not to do so before negotiating whether or not to do so.

State-run SNAP is a federal program. A participant’s monthly benefit is typically $ 190, or $ 356, per household, on average. Beneficiaries may use the benefits to purchase bread, bread, meat, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and other foods. The majority of SNAP households are impoverished.

Several times about the shutdown and the Republican tax and spending law that Trump signed in July have been accurately stated by legislators and users of social media. A closer look is available here:

Food stamps will no longer be available on November 1 according to social media posts.

Food stamps are going away as of November 1 according to numerous social media posts.

One Instagram post read, “Let that sink in – just in time for the month of giving thanks.”

Millions of people might be affected by that. Because the month of November is when people receive their benefits, which may not be the case for all of them, it could also occur for some of them throughout November.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank, the Trump administration could use SNAP’s contingency fund to pay for nearly two-thirds of a full month’s benefits, or it could transfer other Agriculture Department funds. The administration has announced that it has found funding to continue its low-income families’ Women, Infants, and Children program.

SNAP “shall continue operations during a lapse in appropriations, subject to the availability of funding,” according to an Agriculture Department funding lapse plan.

States were advised to delay taking steps that would result in people receiving their November benefits by an Agriculture Department letter. According to federal regulations, benefits reductions must be made so that higher-income recipients experience lower benefits than lower-income recipients.

We emailed administration officials for more information, but they didn’t respond to our inquiries.

In addition, many state officials, including those in Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin, warned that if the shutdown continues, November could bring with it benefits. Benefits won’t be issued if the shutdown continues into November, according to a Florida Department of Children and Families spokesman.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday that he will send $80 million in state funds to the National Guard and California Volunteers, a state agency.

In a letter to Rollins on Wednesday, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers stated, “Empty cupboards and stomachs are not abstract outcomes.” They represent the dysfunctional behavior in Washington’s very real and near future. You can prevent these consequences as well as today.

In addition, other Trump administration initiatives have hurt local food banks. The administration earlier this year, according to a report from ProPublica on October 3, cut $500 million in deliveries through the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which distributes food to state distribution agencies.

What have some influential lawmakers said about this, and how accurate are their claims?

We are not cutting SNAP, they say.

– US Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on the May 25 television program Face the Nation.

This is untrue.

Johnson addressed the House as a Republican-backed bill that included many of Trump’s policy priorities at the time.

Based on the bill’s changes to work requirements and limitations on states’ ability to waive the work requirements in areas with high unemployment, the nonpartisan number-crunching arm of Congress, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in May that 3.2 million fewer people per month on average would receive SNAP benefits over the next nine years.

According to a more recent CBO analysis from August, the changes would affect 2.4 million people’s SNAP participation.

According to SNAP, “almost 25 percent of every $1 spent goes to farmers and ranchers.”

– Wisconsin representative Francesca Hong poses for a June 12 X position.

This is accurate.

Hong claimed in the a&nbsp, series of X posts that the legislation would not only harm families receiving food aid.

According to a chart released this year by the Economic Research Service of the Agriculture Department, farm businesses will make 24.3% of every dollar spent on home food in 2023, including at grocery stores and supermarkets.

“On SNAP, 20 percent of households with veterans rely,”

– Hakeem Jeffries, the head of the House Democratic, speaking at a press conference on May 8.

Most of the time, this is false.

Veterans who receive SNAP benefits are 80% of them, according to a study conducted on April 2. A share of the state’s stock was higher than 14%. Rates ranged from 4.9% to 6.6% according to studies that used data from a few years earlier.