Companies stock up on US-Mexico border

Companies are stocking up on materials in reaction to supply-chain risks from President Donald Trump’s threat to seal the US border with Mexico, an influential business group has warned.

The US Chamber of Commerce said the threat to close the border floated by the president went even further than the clampdown at ports of entry following the September 11 terror attacks in 2001, which caused car plants to be idled.

Last week, Trump warned of a “very good likelihood” that he would shut the border if Mexico does not do more to stem arrivals of migrants from Central America. His comments came as migrant arrests in March surged above 100,000, the highest in more than a decade, according to the Customs and Border Protection agency, the Financial Times reports.