“We will put a 200% tariff if we have to,” Trump said. “We are not going to let it happen. We are not going to let those cars enter the United States”
The former president campaigned in Wisconsin for the fourth time in eight days, underscoring the importance his campaign is placing on the state less than a month before the election.
Opinion polls have shown Harris, the US vice president, with a slight lead in Wisconsin after the state favored President Joe Biden over Trump four years ago.
Both Harris and Trump have invested an enormous amount of time, money and resources in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, considered key to victory in the American electoral college. Trump swept those states in 2016 against Democrat Hillary Clinton on his way to the presidency. Biden did the same in 2020.
Harris campaigned Thursday in Wisconsin alongside former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney.
Trump made his remarks about the tariffs while pledging to strengthen the U.S. auto industry. Experts have said their plans could raise vehicle prices.
Mexico exported about 3 million vehicles to the United States in 2023, and the three Detroit automakers accounted for about half of those exports.
The Tax Policy Center think tank has said that a massive new tariff on Mexican vehicle exports “would likely raise the cost of motor vehicles, both domestic and imported, both used and new.”
Trump previously threatened to impose large tariffs on cars from Mexico as president and as a candidate in 2016. Imposing tariffs of up to 25% on Mexican cars and components could have serious impacts on the industry and raise vehicle costs, they said. car manufacturers in 2019.
