Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday said he would slap tariffs as high as 200% on vehicles imported from Mexico as he ratchets up his protectionist trade rhetoric ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Trump, facing Democrat Kamala Harris in a tight race, has previously pledged that if elected again as president he would set a 100% duty on imported cars and trucks with the goal of aiding the domestic auto industry.
But while speaking at a rally at an airport in Juneau, Wisconsin, Trump doubled the figure.
“We’ll put a tariff of 200% on if we have to. We’re not letting those cars come into the United States (U.S.),” Trump stated.
Mexico exported about three million vehicles to the U.S. in 2023, with the Detroit Three automakers accounting for about half of those exports.
The Tax Policy Center think tank has said that a massive new tariff on Mexican vehicle exports “likely would drive up the cost of motor vehicles, domestic as well as imports, used cars as well as new.”
Trump previously threatened large tariffs on cars from Mexico as president and as a candidate in 2016.
Imposing up to 25% tariffs on Mexican autos and components could have severe impacts on the industry and hike vehicle costs, automakers said in 2019.
