Trump Threatens 200% Tariff on Vehicles Imported from Mexico, According to Reuters

By James Oliphant and David Shepardson

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he would impose tariffs as high as 200% on vehicles imported from Mexico, intensifying his protectionist trade stance as the November 5 election approaches.

In a rally in Juneau, Wisconsin, Trump, who is in a close race against Democrat Kamala Harris, emphasized that if he is reelected, he would implement a 100% duty on imported cars and trucks to support the domestic auto industry. However, at the rally, he increased this figure to 200%.

“We’ll put a tariff of 200% on if we have to,” Trump stated. “We’re not going to let it happen. We’re not letting those cars come into the United States.”

This rally marked Trump’s fourth visit to Wisconsin in just eight days, highlighting the state’s importance in his campaign with less than a month until Election Day. Opinion polls indicate that Harris currently holds a slight advantage in Wisconsin, which previously supported President Joe Biden over Trump four years ago.

Both candidates are heavily focused on states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, vital for securing victory in the electoral college. Trump had success in these states during the 2016 election against Democrat Hillary Clinton, while Biden followed suit in 2020.

On Thursday, Harris campaigned alongside former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney in Wisconsin.

Trump’s Juneau rally occurred shortly after he held an event in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he faced an assassination attempt in July. During his speech, Trump reiterated his commitment to bolstering the U.S. auto industry, although experts suggest his proposed tariffs could lead to increased vehicle prices.

In 2023, Mexico exported roughly 3 million vehicles to the United States, with the three major Detroit automakers comprising about half of those exports. The Tax Policy Center think tank has indicated that such high tariffs on Mexican vehicle exports would likely raise vehicle costs overall, affecting both new and used cars.

Previously, Trump had threatened significant tariffs on cars from Mexico during his presidency and his 2016 campaign. Industry officials have warned that imposing tariffs of up to 25% on Mexican vehicles and components could severely impact the industry and increase vehicle prices.

During the latter part of his nearly two-hour speech in Juneau, Trump criticized the Biden administration’s handling of Hurricane Helene, which caused significant devastation in the Southeast and resulted in 227 fatalities along with widespread power outages.

He claimed that Harris had left people “stranded” without substantiating his claims. “This is the worst response to a storm or a catastrophe or a hurricane that we’ve ever seen,” he insisted to the audience in Juneau.

In defense of the administration’s actions, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell expressed on a Sunday morning program that the agency is adequately resourced for recovery efforts.

Criswell stated, “We continue to move in critical commodities into the places that have been hard to reach.” She also dismissed assertions by Trump and other Republicans that FEMA funding was being redirected to assist migrants in the country illegally, calling those claims “frankly ridiculous and just plain false.”