Trump Imposes Tariffs on Mexico

By now, you’re probably pretty familiar with the tariff war between China and the United States: basically, we raise tariffs on goods from China, and China responds by raising tariffs on goods from the United States. The goal of these “protective” tariffs, according to the White House, is to encourage Americans to buy American products, thus protecting American jobs. But the problem is that everyday household goods are now more expensive for the average American consumer.

And the fact that China won’t buy American products, particularly agricultural products, has been devastating for American farmers. Despite all of this, however, the White House last week announced a new set of tariffs: this time, on products from Mexico. Here, Election Central takes a closer look at the reason for these tariffs, as well as how they might impact you, the consumer.

So What’s Happening?

Last Thursday, Trump announced that starting June 10, tariffs on goods imported from Mexico will increase by 10 percent. Why? While the goal of the tariffs on Chinese goods was to protect American jobs, the goal of the Mexican tariffs isn’t economic. Rather, it’s a sort of punishment. According to the president, unless Mexico does more to stem the flow of undocumented immigrants from Mexico into the United States, the tariffs will take effect on June 10. After that, if Mexico still doesn’t do enough to address illegal immigration, tariffs will rise to 15 percent on September 1, and then to 25 percent on October 1, where they will remain permanently until Mexico takes adequate steps to fix the issue.

Can He Do It?

According to Trump, yes he can. He says that the situation on the southern border constitutes a national emergency, and as such, he can enact tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

What Was the Response?

Just like with the tariffs on Chinese goods, American workers and consumers will pay the price. In fact, if the tariffs take effect as planned, it is likely that the hardest-hit group would be American automakers. Why? Many carmakers have moved their factories to Mexico in recent years, because labor and land are cheaper and yet there is still easy access to the United States. As a result, automakers quickly criticized Trump’s announcement, and automobile stock fell. But it’s also important to remember that Mexico is one of our top trade partners. Therefore, countless other industries will be affected as well, as many American products are made (in whole or in part) in Mexico.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also criticized the new plan, saying that it’s not appropriate for the White House to try to solve social problems by raising tariffs and damaging trade agreements. He also sent his foreign secretary to Washington, D.C., in an attempt to work out some kind of compromise. At a press conference held late last week, he suggested that he may be willing to tighten border controls in order to reach a deal with the United States. However, he was clear that he would not take any steps to reinforce border controls that would violate human rights.

What Do You Think? In your opinion, is raising tariffs an effective way to deal with concerns about immigration? Explain.