ODESSA, TX (KWES) - The talked about 20% increase on Mexican imports or "Trump Tax" as it was put made businesses like the Mi Casa restaurant in Odessa a little wary. It's manager Jose Torres says if something like that were to pass that means buying something like a plate of food would be a little bit more expensive.
"Business is already slow as it is being that oil is so low and now they are going to do this is going to hurt us more," said Torres.
Torres said they get their goods imported from Mexico every two days.
"We get lettuce, avocados, squash and zucchini. We get spices like paprika, chili pepper and jalapeños," said Torres.
Torres added the restaurant's bottom line has taken a hit recently and possible increase could mean more drastic measures.
"We have quite a few workers with us right now and if we have to close down it's going to hurt a bunch of families," said Torres.
While the White House continues to discuss the idea of an increased tax, Torres hopes everything just stays the way they are.
"Most of the stuff we use here in the Mexican restaurant is mainly imported from Mexico," said Torres.
If you would like to see how much the United States imports processed food from Mexico the United States Department of Agriculture released a snapshot you can view here: https://apps.fas.usda.gov/gats/PrintBicoReport.aspx?&PT=C&MYT=F&EY=2016&EM=11&EMName=November&RT=C&PC=MX&SY=2011&IP=Y&PG=PFood
