Trump threatens Mexico with 100% tariffs unless it cracks down on border crossings
4 November 2024, 22:07
Former President Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on all imports from Mexico unless its government prevents migrants crossing the border into the US illegally.
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The Republican candidate said at a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina that he would impose a 25% tariff on Mexican imports if he returns to office.
He said he would call Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum and threaten her with the tariff as one of his first acts as President if he is elected.
“One of the first calls I’m going to make is to Mexico. ‘You stop letting people come in through our border,'” Trump said at the rally.
“We’re being invaded by Mexico. But now we have a new president of Mexico. Supposed to be a very nice woman, they say.I haven’t met her.
“And I’m going to inform her on day one or sooner that if they don’t stop this onslaught of criminals and drugs coming into our country, I’m going to immediately impose a 25 percent tariff on everything they send into the United States of America,”
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Trump claimed the plan had “100 percent chance of working”, telling his supporters that he would increase the tariff to 50%, 75% and, if necessary, 100%.
Tariffs - a tax on imported goods - were a signature policy of Trump’s administration during his first presidential term.
In 2018, he imposed tariffs of 30% to 50% on goods imported from China, sparking retaliation from Beijing, which imposed its own tariffs on imported US goods like aluminium, cars, and aeroplanes.
In his current campaign, the former President has pledged to impose a blanket tariff of 20% on all goods imported to the US, and a 60% tariff on Chinese imports.
Several studies have found that the new tariffs would raise prices of goods for average families in the US, with estimates of between $1,350 and $3,900 per year.
Trump has also repeatedly misrepresented tariffs, claiming that they are paid by the country from which the goods are imported. In reality, the tariffs are paid by the company that does the importing.
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The presidential hopeful has also made illegal immigration a central focus of his campaign in a bid to be re-elected to the White House, saying he would launch the “largest deportation operation in American History”.
At a rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Monday he said: “November 5, 2024 (the day of the election) will be Liberation Day in America.
“And on day one, I will launch the largest deportation program of criminals in American history. We’re going to get them out.
Trump said some migrants would be imprisoned and others would be deported.
He added: “For the most part we just want to get them the hell out.”
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are both still campaigning in key battleground states on the eve of the election in a bid to secure the critical votes and win the presidency.
