Trump unveils plan to threaten Mexico with 25% tariffs for border security

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Former President Donald Trump vowed Monday that if he is re-elected, he will immediately slap a 25% tariff on Mexico if it fails to stem the flood of illegal migrants across the border.

After boasting about his rapport with former Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Trump, 78, contended that he would have a tough call with Obrador’s successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, about the border crisis if he wins the presidential election.

“One of the first calls I’m going to make is to Mexico. ‘You stop letting people come in through our border,'” Trump said to cheers at his Raleigh, NC, rally.

Trump vowed to stop the flow of migrants into the US from Mexico on the first day in office. AFP via Getty Images

“We’re being invaded by Mexico. But now we have a new president of Mexico,” he said. “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.”

Trump conveyed strong confidence that his ultimatum against Mexico would succeed.

“You’re the first ones I’ve told that to,” he said to the crowd of his plan. “Congratulations, North Carolina. And it’s only got a 100% chance of working because if it doesn’t work, I’ll make it a 50% tariff. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll make it 75%.”

He later added that he would institute a 100% tariff if necessary.

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The former president has long fixated on Mexico’s role in the border crisis. In the 2016 election cycle, Trump vowed to build a wall across the US-Mexico border and get the southern neighbor to foot the bill for it.

Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, NC. REUTERS

Early on in his first term, Trump had a tense call with Mexico’s then-president, Enrique Peña Nieto, in which he said, “The fact is we are both in a little bit of a political bind because I have to have Mexico pay for the wall — I have to,” according to a transcript of the conversation that later emerged.

Throughout his campaign, Trump has championed tariffs, and he recently called it the “most beautiful word in the dictionary” while dangling threatened levies of about 60% on Chinese goods and 10% on other imports.

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In some cases, Trump has made clear he intends to use tariffs as a negotiating tool with other countries, and in other instances, he’s suggested that tariffs should be used in the long term to protect domestic industries.

Sen. Marco Rubio joined Trump on stage during his Raleigh rally. AFP via Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris and her allies have highlighted the litany of economists who have warned about the potential repercussions of such protectionist measures, with her campaign dubbing the measures as a “national sales tax.”

But Trump has said, “Mexico is our No. 1 trading partner.

“They make a fortune. They’ve taken over our country in a way. … They’re ripping us off left and right.”

Trump said Monday that he was actually reluctant to roll out his proposed Mexico tariff policy because of concerns that Harris might poach the idea from him.

Trade between the US and Mexico amounted to about $855 billion in 2022, including roughly $500 billion worth of imports from the southern neighbor, according to data from the Office of the US Trade Representative.

Trump’s rally in North Carolina was his first battleground-state event on the eve of Election Day, and he will later stump in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

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