Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Monday that if elected president of the United States, he would impose a 200% tariff on all John Deere imports to the U.S. if the company moves ahead with plans to move part of its production to Mexico.
John Deere, known for their kelly green tractors and leaping deer logo, in June announced plans to shift production of certain equipment from factories in Iowa and Illinois to Mexico by the end of 2026, amid a hefty round of layoffs.
Unprovoked In Pennsylvania, Trump attacks John Deere, “I’m notifying John Deere right now. If you do that, we’re putting a 200% tariff on everything that you want to sell into the United States. So that if I win, John Deere is going to be paying a 200%.” pic.twitter.com/sPbm4MWFSR
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) September 23, 2024
Trump made the comments while meeting with farmers at a campaign event in Smithton, Pennsylvania. Polls show that U.S. presidential candidates Trump and Kamala Harris are virtually tied in the state, a race that analysts say is likely to determine the election’s outcome.
“As you know, [John Deere] announced a few days ago that they are going to move a lot of their manufacturing business to Mexico,” Trump said. “I am just notifying John Deere right now that if you do that, we are putting a 200% tariff on everything that you want to sell into the United States.”
The company’s stock wobbled following the candidate’s comments, falling 1.5% in after-hours trading before making up most of the losses on Tuesday.
John Deere currently has production plants in Ramos Arizpe, Saltillo and Torreón, Coahuila, as well as in Monterrey, Nuevo León. It also has its own dedicated export lane in the Laredo-Colombia International Bridge, which connects Nuevo León to Texas.
The Ramos Arizpe facility will take over the manufacturing of certain types of machinery formerly made in the United States, the newspaper Vanguardia reported in July.
Tariffs were a focus of Trump’s economic strategy during his presidency, and form a central part of his economic plan for if he wins the upcoming U.S. election. Though designed to protect U.S. jobs from being taken overseas, economists warn that the plan to smack tariffs on certain imports could lead to widespread inflation.
Earlier this year, Trump also threatened 100% tariffs against cars made in Mexico by Chinese companies.
President Joe Biden also implemented a tariff on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico in July, in an effort to prevent Chinese evasion of tariffs. Vice President Harris, in her campaign for president, has expressed her support of tariffs as a tool to protect American workers but has not proposed any specific measures beyond those put forth by President Biden.
Mexico itself has also recently implemented tariffs against China. In April, President López Obrador issued a presidential decree levying tariffs of 5% to 50% on more than 500 Chinese products.
With reports from Vanguardia, El Universal and Reuters
I sure hope those farmers are ready to pay 200% more for their John Deeres.
Just like the last round of Trump tariffs that cost the farmers billions (in retaliatory tariffs).
Tariff wars are easy to lose, as Trump illustrated handily.
Although Mexico already has pretty high tariffs on any foreign goods, I suppose they can always go higher in retaliation for US ones. It’s a lot harder for a Mexican consumer to eat that cost though.
It also would mean Mexicans buying more Chinese products than American-branded ones, if Trump is looking to create new markets and market-share for China in North America, this would help a lot.
All part of a well orchestrated plan to have the South paying $45 for a salad, drive more people to processed food and create demand for the insulin market.
Well said!!
Can you explain the likely impact on Chinese inward investment into Mexico if Mexico, as explained in the final paragraph of your article, imposes tariffs on Chinese products.
Chinese investment into Mexico would likely grind to a halt.
A great current example is Lotus. The company is now owned by a Chinese entity. The new sports car retails between $80-100K. Now add the current 100% tariffs being discussed by the US administration and Europe. That is now a $200K car. There is no way that Lotus can continue. Without access to American consumers, there is no need to manufacture anything in close proximity to the States. I expect that is what is causing BYD to slow down their investment talks in Mexico. Either the companies absorb the tariff (🤣🤣🤣), or it gets passed on to the consumer (😪😪😪).
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) might just have something to say about that 🤔 😉 And Trump negotiated and signed it…. 😆
Trump got rid of NAFTA and replaced it with his plan, the USMCA, which in turn created 8 billon dollars for Mexico’s GDP.
John Deere has in the past moved manufacturing to China. maybe now they are moving it from China to Mexico.
I am expressing a rare affinity for Trump. I grew up in Ohio and remember how the USA Is More Corrupt than the UMS drained the midwest of its industry. That and semiconductors went to commie land, China. Corruption a la mode. I’m all for removing all wrongfully outsourced industry in China, including Tesla and Apple, to México but like Trump I oppose outsourcing of USA industry to México.
Trump is a pendejo. No one likes American jobs being eliminated but it’s the natural evolution of things. We have used John Deere equipment exclusively and growing up dad would work at the JD implement dealership each year after harvest until spring work kept him busy farming. JD is currently sitting on machinery it cannot sell. Warehouses FULL. It’s already the most expensive and most costly to repair, with proprietary systems and locking farmers out of making their own repairs on new equipment. Do you know what a new combine costs, then add a quality header… close to $500K. Nobody’s buying at current interest rates. The jobs have already been lost. In Iowa, like 600+ already and that’s with no manufacturing in MX. You either adapt or die. It’s capitalism at its basic foundation. Keep manufacturing in the US with robotics and cheap (immigrant/Mexican) labor there’s still no more good jobs. There’s nothing made in the good old USA anymore. Taxing the hell out of American companies will do a whole lot more damage than good. We have about 10K acres and we lease almost all of it and can make more money than if we farmed it. And we can work in other careers making salaries on top of the rent. Corporate farms are killing the family farmer and state laws are encouraging it. John Deere is needing to pay shareholders. If not, they go bankrupt or fall victim to takeover. It’s nice to remember “the good old days”, unfortunately they ain’t coming back. So F’k Trump and let American businesses do what American business does… please the shareholders. That’s the real American way. Guys like Trump filing bankruptcy 6 times on the construction workers whose companies have loans on $250K pieces of machinery that built his failed casinos and other failed businesses are what got us here. Those workers lose jobs because their companies suffer from Trump bankruptcies then they can’t buy American fridges, washers & dryers, cars, etc. And all those companies have to send manufacturing out of the US. You should blame idiot businessmen like Trump. Do some research, dig deeper than the headlines. Trump is an idiot. A pendejo!
Bravo👏
Bravo x 100%!!!
I agree
Looks like you dug all the way to China. Put the shovel down stop the TDS.Trump got rid of NAFTA and replaced it with his plan, the USMCA, which in turn created 8 billon dollars for Mexico’s GDP.
Gotta like Norse’s comments. Nice to have somebody post who knows what he’s talking about.
Regarding Trump, don’t make the assumption that he gets elected. Second, Trump makes endless promises that he has no intention of keeping. The wall and having Mexico pay for it are just a few. The underlying objectives of this comment is to get the farmers in Pennsylvania to vote for him, then get Deere to pay him for not putting on a tariff (remember when he got the Saudis to give his daughter and son-in-law $2 billion to start an investment company) and then put Deere under the control of one of his newly appointed oligarchs.
Regarding Mexico, having China anywhere near us isn’t a good idea. Look no further than South America and Africa for conformation. China, in it’s long history has never physically invaded anybody. They do it with money. To that end, Mexico needs to start making their own products. This starts with a better educational program and capital from the banks and the wealthy. It is refreshing to me to see that Mexico can elect well educated, strong and who can actually get things done. We are in good hands with President Sheinbaum.
China has most certainly “physically” invaded numerous countries throughout its long history. Since World War II or its revolution, Tibet, India, South Korea, Vietnam, and the Soviet Union, just to name a few. While some of those invasions by the Chinese Communist Force (CCF) were small in scale, they are violations of another’s sovereignty. As a historical reminder, estimates are that the CCF committed nearly one million of its men to the Korean War and lost somewhere between 180K-400k. It seems that in the 21st century, the preferred method of war is economic means through currency manipulation, IP theft, predatory pricing, cyber attacks, and global espionage. However, I don’t think that China in the near term is not willing or able to invade Taiwan or other countries within the region physically. Within the next decade, China most assuredly will project its forces outside the region.
Mexican government don’t mess with Trump, because he does what he say’s he is going to do. Another thing that is going to happen in 2025, is a 50% tariff “surtax” on all ” the money (remittances’) ” being sent back to Mexico. So “good-bye” $6 billion economic increase. Some of the citizens who are the real “Baboses” don’t seem to understand the consequences and the “additional downgrades that are going to occur by Morgan Stanley Bank. Don’t “kid yourself because Mexico will be seeing a new President Trump is in the making with lots of new surprises the second time around as President. He has learned his “mistakes “and He won’t repeat them the second time around.
👍
🤢 🤕 🤮
Thanks you are absolutely right
Norse you are absolutely right. Here in Canada we have had the softwood lumber wars with the USA for decades .Every time they put a new tariff on softwood lumber Canada goes to the world court and the USA always looses and every nickle gets returned to the lumber mills in Canada.
But here is were it hurts the US consumer. That tariff just gets passed on to the retailer and they pass it on to the consumer . Government doesn’t loose the retailed doesn’t loose . Only the consumer looses.
If North America is to survive in a world market we need to be dropping tariffs not increasing them. No one country can be everything to everyone we need to specialize in things that make each of our countries more competitive on the world stage . Unfortunately cheap labor is not a strong category for Canada so we have to be better in other areas if we are to compete
Thank you, Norse.
Optima, first, the Mexican government can do whatever it wants. They are a sovereign nation.
And Trump is so scary. Didn’t he say they would have to build the wall? Wasn’t that the tiny bit he had built; oh, yeah, some of which has fallen over.
Second, you assume a lot. Trump winning is not a given. His dementia alone disqualifies him from operating in international affairs. His backup Vance can hardly keep to the script. Voters are not stupid. Most likely, there will be no new surprises from the oldest and most unhealthiest man in history to ever run for president. His tantrums on the world stage and bullying will soon be a thing of the past.
OMG stop the blind hatred. Grow up, think for yourself and use some common sense for the sake of the country. The big blue machine is real and it needs to stop before it it to late.