Trump threatens to impose tariffs to make Mexico stop 'onslaught of criminals and drugs' entering US

WASHINGTON

In a final pitch to voters on the eve of Election Day, former US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened a 25% tariff on Mexico – one of America’s biggest trading partners – if it fails to stop migrants from entering US.

"One of the first calls I’m going to make is to Mexico: 'You stop letting people come in through our border'," Trump told a campaign rally in North Carolina, a swing state he is seeking to win to ensure his return to the White House.

Trump claimed: "We’re being invaded by Mexico … If they don’t stop this onslaught of criminals and drugs coming into our country, I’m going to immediately impose a 25% tariff on everything they send into the United States of America.”

The Republican candidate said the plan has a "100% chance of working" and added: "Because if that doesn’t work, I’ll make it 50, and [if] that doesn’t work, I’ll make it 75. For the tough guys, and I’ll make it 100.”

Many economists have warned that Trump’s threatened tariffs would be counterproductive and effectively act like tax on American consumers.

In his successful 2016 presidential run, Trump vowed to build a wall on the US-Mexican border, and to make Mexico pay for it. Neither pledge became a reality, but in his current campaign, Trump returned to rhetoric of an “invasion” of immigrants, which seems to be popular with his base of supporters.

Trump on Tuesday is facing off against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party candidate, in what most observers say will be a very tight race.