On October 13, U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News that if he is successfully elected, he may impose tariffs of more than 200% on vehicles imported from Mexico, an increase from the previous 200%.
Trump said: "I may impose tariffs of more than 200% or even 500%. I don't care about the specific amount, but the tax rate I set will definitely make it impossible to sell even one car imported from Mexico in the United States. I don't want these imported vehicles to damage the interests of American car companies."
Trump added: "200% is just a ballpark figure. What I'm saying is that I will not allow imported cars from Mexico. Mexico will not be able to sell cars to the United States because I will not allow some (Chinese) automakers to build a factory in Mexico and sell millions of cars to the United States, further destroying the Detroit auto industry."
Trump has previously promised that if re-elected as the US president, he would impose 100% tariffs on cars and trucks imported from Mexico to support the US domestic auto industry. But last week, speaking at his latest rally at the Juneau, Wisconsin, airport, Trump doubled the import duties he wanted to impose.
Previously, Trump also threatened to impose high tariffs on cars imported from Mexico during the 2016 campaign, and put it into practice during his term as president of the United States (2019). At that time, automakers said that imposing tariffs of up to 25% on cars and parts imported from Mexico could have a serious impact on the U.S. auto industry and raise the cost of cars.
Instigated by Trump, the United States, Mexico and Canada also renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2018 and added some provisions aimed at keeping "more auto manufacturing in the United States."