President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would give Mexico a year to stem the flow of illegal drugs and migrants over the southern border, and if the country cannot, he said he would impose auto tariffs, and if that didn’t work, would close the border.
“You know i will do it. I don’t play games. ... so we’re doing it to stop people. We’re gonna give them a one year warning, and if the drugs don’t stop, or largely stop, we’re going to put tariffs on Mexico and products, in particular cars. The whole ballgame is cars....and if that doesn’t stop the drugs, we close the border,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“If Mexico doesn’t apprehend these people coming” into the United States from Central America, “we’re going to tax the cars. And if that doesn’t work, we’re going to close the border,” Trump said during a meeting of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council. “If, in a year from now, drugs continue to pour in, we’re going to put tariffs up.”
The move represents a significant step back from Trump’s recent threats to shut the border as early as this week.
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Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Martha McSally, R-Ariz., both warned the president against taking the step. The senators face re-election next year in states Trump will also need to win in order to guarantee him a second term in the White House.
The announcement that Trump in considering new auto tariffs on Mexican imports could spell even more trouble for a major trade deal reached last year between the U.S., Mexico and Canada, known as USMCA. The deal has yet to be ratified by the legislative bodies of any of the three countries, and it faces an uphill battle in each of them for domestic reasons that are unique to each country.
The new, yearlong timeline for Mexico to take action also ensures that Trump can continue to use the southern border as a rallying cry for his 2020 reelection campaign.
In 2016, Trump’s pledge to “build a wall” between the U.S. and Mexico was one of the pillars of his campaign. He has yet to build such a wall.
Trump gives Mexico a year to stem the flow of drugs and migrants or he will impose auto tariffs or close the border
But something tells me that USMB Trumpettes believe that their Trumpenführer is
WINNING on this issue. Don't you?