Candidate for president of the United States Donald Trump once again attacked imports from Mexico, this time threatening to slap a 200% tariff on vehicles manufactured in Mexico.
The proposed tariff is double the amount he had previously pledged to impose on vehicles imported from Mexico.
Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would impose tariffs as high as 200% on vehicles imported from Mexico, in protectionist trade remarks ahead of the Nov. 5 election https://t.co/1rW73nQDiR pic.twitter.com/USq8hqxHfn
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 7, 2024
“We’ll put a tariff of 200% on if we have to,” Trump said at a rally on Sunday in Butler, Pennsylvania. “We’re not going to let it happen. We’re not letting those cars come into the United States.”
Trump issued a similar threat a few weeks earlier, claiming his intent to support the U.S. manufacturing sector in general and the U.S. auto industry in particular.
“We will put a 100% tariff on every single car coming across the Mexican border,” Trump said while campaigning in Savannah, Georgia, on Sept. 24.
The former president’s threats to foreign-made imports include a 200% tariff on all John Deere imports to the United States if the company continues its plans to move part of its production to Mexico.
Trump did not share further details of his protectionist proposal. Economists cited by Reuters say his plans could increase inflation and “drive up the cost of motor vehicles, domestic as well as imports, used cars as well as new.”
During his 2016 campaign for president and 2017-2021 term in office, Trump threatened large tariffs on cars from Mexico. U.S. automakers balked at the threat, arguing that imposing up to 25% tariffs on Mexican autos and components could have severe impacts on the industry including higher vehicle costs.
In September, the Republican candidate said he would impose high duties on cars manufactured in Mexico by Chinese companies, but his more recent comments indicate he may be talking about any vehicle imported to the U.S. from Mexico.
Mexico exported nearly three million vehicles to the U.S. in 2023, with Detroit’s Big Three automakers — Ford, GM and Chrysler — accounting for roughly half of those exports.
With reports from Reuters, La Jornada and El País
