Ten days ago, during a rally in Savannah, Georgia, Republican candidate Donald Trump said that, if he were to win the upcoming presidential elections, he would "put a 100% tariff on every single car coming across the Mexican border." The plan, he claimed, would revive American manufacturing and create jobs, though some critics countered that forcing international automakers to shift production could increase vehicle costs for U.S. consumers.
The announcement comes at a delicate time for relations with Mexico, as the neighboring country has partially blamed the U.S. for the current violence in Sinaloa and drastically increased the presence of Russian diplomats, measures which have provoked heavy criticism from U.S. authorities.
The tense situation has not rattled Trump as he doubled down on his promises on Sunday in Juneau, Wisconsin, upping the ante even more by vowing tariffs as high as 200% on vehicles imported from Mexico. "We'll put a tariff of 200% on if we have to," Trump said. "We're not going to let it happen. We're not letting those cars come into the United States."
He went on to say:
"They're building massive car plants, They're building some of the biggest auto plants, car manufacturing plants, anywhere in the world, and then they think they're going to build them cheap and sell them into our country."
Trump's proposal to impose tariffs on Mexican vehicle imports comes as Mexico remains a major exporter to the U.S., with approximately 3 million vehicles shipped in 2023, according to Reuters. Trump had previously threatened similar tariffs during his presidency and 2016 campaign, raising concerns within the auto industry about potential price hikes.
Trump has also vowed to impose a 200% tariff on John Deere's imports into the U.S. if the company moves some of its production to Mexico, a move they suggested earlier in 2024. The company also laid off about 600 employees at three plants that impacted facilities in Davenport and Dubuque, Iowa, as well as East Moline, Illinois, amid a downturn in the agricultural industry.
"As you know, they've announced a few days ago that they are going to move a lot of their manufacturing business to Mexico," Trump said at a rally in western Pennsylvania. "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."
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