President Trump's tariffs are already costing businesses on the border and abroad as the administration continues sending mixed signals on the policy. The effects were already seen this month, as merchandise and materials crossing the border from Tijuana to the U.S. went down 40%.

According to Border Report , almost 4,500 trucks would cross the border daily, but since Trump took office that figure has decreased to about 2,300.

"It's an atypical year, the war over tariffs is the main reason for the reduction, but long waits at the border have contributed," Israel Delgado Vallejo, vice president of the northwest chamber of freight transporters in Baja told the outlet.

"The Trump administration has threatened to implement a 25% tax on all products coming from or manufactured in Mexico , people don't want to commit to placing orders," he added.

Delgado Vallego added that the uncertainty and fewer trips for truckers will continue until the tariffs issue is clarified, warning that if empty rigs can't get from one side of the border to the other, they can't pick up materials quickly enough, slowing down the flow of commerce.

Last month, President Trump enacted sweeping tariffs on foreign nations in an event he called "Liberation Day." In it, he declared that nearly all nations (even uninhabited ones) would face tariffs ranging from 10% and 50%. Since then, the White House has flip flopped numerous times, ensuing confusion among trading partners and consumers alike.

In the latest episode of the saga, Trump suggested he would reimpose new tariff rates without completing trade deals with other countries, despite the administration claiming he would offer trade deals to "each and every country that calls up this administration to strike a deal." The new move has been designated as the White House's 16th flip flop on tariffs by Forbes , which has been meticulously tracking the tariff war.

The president told reporters Friday that "we have... 150 countries that want to make a deal, but you're not able to see that many countries."

Trump then suggested that Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent will be "sending letters out" in the coming weeks to foreign governments that the administration won't reach trade deals with, in which the Trump administration will "be telling people what they'll be paying to do business in the United States."

The on-again off-again tariffs have had a quick impact on the border , where businesses are already seeing increasing costs, and ultimately, residents' jobs.

"There certainly have been some jobs at least put on hold and we're hearing from employers in the region second-guessing whether they should even be involved in (the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement) because of its unpredictability," said Jon Barela, chief executive of the Borderplex Alliance , "and that maybe they should go to other regions and other countries that have some level of predictability."

Barela, whose organization promotes investment in the El Paso-Juarez-Las Cruces, New Mexico region, added that he worries that small short-term losses may turn into substantial missed investment opportunities in the long term.

"The people who are involved in making investing decisions are on freeze. They're pausing their decisions. They invest tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars and they can't simply turn on a switch and decide to move to the United States. It doesn't happen that way," Barela said. "In the long-term, if we don't get this straightened up, it will certainly hurt U.S. revenues."