(Reuters) – United States presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday suggested that he would impose tariffs of more than 200% on cars from Mexico, saying that his aim would be to prevent the sale of cars from Mexico to the United States.
“All I do is 'I'll put 200 or 500, I don't care.' I'm going to put a number where they can't sell one car,” he said during a Fox News interview that aired Sunday. “I don't want them to hurt our car companies.”
Trump, facing Democrat Kamala Harris in a tough race, has promised that if he is re-elected as president, he will put 100% duty on cars and trucks from other countries in order to help the local car industry.
While speaking at a rally last week in Juneau, Wisconsin, Trump doubled the number.
“When I use 200 I use it as a number,” he said during a Fox News interview. “I don't want their car. They can't sell cars. I'm not going to let them build a factory across the border and sell millions of cars in the United States and destroy Detroit.”
Trump previously threatened heavy tariffs on cars from Mexico as president and as a candidate in 2016. Tariffs of up to 25% on Mexican cars and parts could have a negative impact on the industry and increase the cost of cars, automakers said in 2019.
At Trump's urging, in 2018 the United States, Mexico and Canada renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement, adding provisions that US officials said would keep much of the auto manufacturing sector in the United States.
