Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) says the Trump Administration’s vow to make Mexico pay for a border wall could squeeze U.S. exporters and consumers across the country.
“We can’t stop globalization and if President Trump simply starts a new trade war we’ll see a real negative impact on the American economy,” Coons said.
On Thursday, the Trump Administration appeared to back a 20 percent import tax on all Mexican goods to help pay for his proposed border wall.
Officials then walked it back, saying it was just one option under consideration. Amid all of the talk, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled a planned trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with Trump over Twitter.
Coons says walking back the proposed tariff signals to him that Trump isn’t sure how to deliver one of his key campaign promises.
Such protectionist policies, he notes would eventually hit shoppers’ wallets.
“If the relationships begin to really break down, and President Trump follows through with some of his stronger proposals – he’s been talking about a 35 percent border tariff on American companies that move their companies overseas and ship their products back into the United States – consumers would see a real cost,” he said.
Mexico was the U.S.’s second largest single trading partner in 2015, with about $235 billion worth of imported goods coming onto American soil.
