Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Gov. J.B. Pritzker during a recent trade mission to Mexico. (Photos courtesy of Illinois Department of Agriculture)   

SPRINGFIELD — An Illinois-led trade mission sought to solidify business relations between the state of Illinois and government officials and product buyers in Mexico City in advance of President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.

Led by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Deputy Gov. Andy Manar and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, the contingent of 80 Illinois industry and elected leaders came home from the four-day trip (March 30- April 2) with a freshly renewed memorandum of understanding to continue friendly trade relations with Mexico. 

“With this trade mission, we have begun laying the foundation for an exciting new era of cooperation and shared prosperity for Illinois and Mexico,” Pritzker said in a news release issued at the conclusion of the trip. “I look forward to seeing the impact of this work across our agriculture, business, and innovation sectors.” 

With a heavy emphasis on food and agriculture, Illinois was represented by State Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II, Illinois Pork Producers Association Executive Director Jennifer Tirey, Illinois Corn Executive Director Rod Weinzierl, Illinois Soybean Executive Director John Lumpe and Illinois Beef Executive Director Josh St. Peters. Upon returning home, Costello spoke to Chronicle Media about the trade mission’s implications. 

“I give Governor Pritzker a lot of credit for his leadership in setting this trip up, especially the timing of the trip,” Costello said. “We did an ag roundtable with a little over 40 members of the Mexican government, Mexican businesses as well as the four (Illinois ag) commodity leaders.

“We talked to senior members of the Mexican government as well as businesses about the fact that the state of Illinois values the business that we do with Mexico.  

“Last year we exported a little over $3 billion to Mexico in ag products, over $1.5 billion in corn alone, $300 million in soybeans, $66 million in pork and $53 million in wheat … We cannot overstate the importance of the relationship we have the country of Mexico and its importance to agriculture in the state.” 

The Illinois delegation included (from left) state Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II, Illinois Corn Executive Director Rod Weinnzierl, Illinois Beef Executive Director Josh St. Peters, Pritzker, Illinois Pork Producers Association Executive Director Jennifer Tirey, Stratton, Illinois Soybean Executive Director John Lumpe and Deputy Gov. Andy Manar.  

Costello said the contingent keyed in on maintaining the stability of the state’s trade relationship with Mexico, which became increasingly important after Trump assigned a 25 percent tariff on many Mexican product imports to the United States. On March 23, the Mexican government announced a list of U.S. products affected by their retaliatory tariffs, which included steel products (25 percent), pork products (20 percent) and additional tariffs on fresh cheese, apples and bourbon.  

“We can’t control what happens with the federal government, but we can control the relationship that we have with Mexico. When you look at the state of Illinois and the logistics that we have in doing business with Mexico, so much of the grain that is transported is done by rail, and Chicago is the rail hub of the United States. We are bordered by the Mississippi River, so we can send grain on barges right down to the Gulf of Mexico. The logistics of doing business with the state of Illinois are second to none for Mexico,” according to Costello.  

The cost-effectiveness of the recent trade mission to Mexico was called into question by state Republicans, including Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi. Salvi told the Center Square the junket to Mexico was a distraction for the governor of a state with a heavy tax burden. “Here he’s leaving to Mexico. Seriously? With a lot of heavies in our state, right, on the taxpayers’ dime,” Salvi was reported as saying. 

However, the governor’s office said delegation members paid their own way on the trade mission, with commodity organizations picking up the tab for their members. Taxpayers, however, did pay for state employees to travel. Costello was quick to defend the trip against the criticism.  

“This trip was planned ahead of all of the Trump tariffs, so the timing was unbelievable. I believe it was smart on the governor’s part to make sure it happened, that the right people were there at the table. When you are talking about the No. 1 ag commodity trading partner we have, there is no place more important for us to have been than in Mexico on April 1 when all of this was going to be announced on April 2,” Costello said.  

“It’s relationship-building 101, to be there and look them in the eye and talk to them. They understand the commitment that we have.” 

According to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity bilateral trade between Illinois and Mexico exceeded $32 billion in 2024, making Mexico Illinois’ second-largest export market. Exports include chemicals, agricultural products and machinery.  

Conversely, Mexico is Illinois’ third-largest import market, with Illinois importing more than $19 billion in goods, including beverages, transportation equipment and electronics. The growing number of Mexico-based companies in Illinois further illustrates the strong economic ties between the two regions, according to Stratton. 

“This trip reinforced critical ties between our administration and Mexico. We brought our tools and our knowledge to the table this week and our partners matched us measure for measure,” said the lieutenant governor. “I’m proud of Governor Pritzker and the delegation for demonstrating that Illinois isn’t just open for business, we’re eager to make business happen.” 

Illinois DCEO Director Kristin Richards said, “We are excited to strengthen the vital economic ties between Illinois and Mexico, as our state has long been a hub for international trade and Mexico continues to be a key partner in driving growth and innovation. With shared goals of fostering economic development and creating new opportunities, this mission will deepen our trade relationship and expand the pathways for businesses in both regions to thrive.” 

A trade MOU between Mexico and Illinois was first established in the 1990s; the recent renewal of the MOU was the first in over 30 years.