government
Trump’s Mexico Tariff Still has U.S. Taxpayers Footing the Bill
It would seem President Trump has a solution to his funding problem for the wall. Trump’s answer, as it seems to be with any country who doesn’t immediately agree with him, is to suggest a Mexico tariff. But that may not be such a good idea – especially with our neighbor to the south. And who really gets stuck paying for the wall if he does?
Why Should Trump Hesitate to Put a Tariff on Mexican Imports?
Donald Trump can’t just approach everything with the threat of a tariff. Especially as a source of funding. Mexico is a major trade partner for the U.S. In fact, Mexico is America’s third largest supplier of imported goods. Last year, that trade totalled to the U.S. importing $295 billion in goods from Mexico. Yes, a 20 percent tariff would generate an additional $59 billion for the country. The only problem there? That cost doesn’t go to Mexico, but gets passed onto the American consumer.
Mexico’s major import categories include vehicles, electrical machinery, fuel, and medical instruments. On top of that, Mexico is our second largest supplier of agriculture, including fresh fruits and vegetables. A tariff could make a lot of these imports unaffordable to many Americans, leaving the country worse off than before, and still having to pay for its own wall.
Trump’s tariff idea came up after Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled a scheduled meeting with the US president after Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to expedite the building of his border wall and Trump’s promise to have Mexico to pay for it. Once Nieto swore there’s no way Mexico would pay for any wall, Trump promised they would — in some form. But after concern from both sides of the aisle about the tariff, Trump’s press secretary backed off the tariff, claiming it was just one option out of several the administration is considering. Spicer refused to acknowledge that the tariff would affect American consumers, and solely focused on the tax’s benefits for American workers.
But any way you look at it, a tariff on Mexico is a bad idea. That would instantly start a trade war with our third largest trade partner, hurting only American consumers and potentially driving up national debt in the process.
A possible solution?
Trump might want to actually restructure NAFTA instead of withdrawing from it, as both Republicans and Democrats alike are encouraging him to do.
Here's a news report from CNN on really paying the US-Mexico wall:
After all, as Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted, “…any policy proposal which drives up costs of Corona, tequila, or margaritas is a big-time bad idea.”
For more news on Trump's wall, click here!
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RevIdahoSpud3 says:
Americans are ALREADY paying for it! Schools, hospitals, social services, crime, mayhem, murder, just about have the US taxpayers belly up. Building a wall may hurt US citizens but the pain will be more akin to a headache than the heart attack we are having now!
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Trump’s team is brilliant and building the Border Wall is the smartest and greatest investment ever made by the USA government.!!! Forget repayment by Mexico and ignore a tax. Besides the carnage from drug pouring in, look at these costs.
The 2011 Martin & Ruark “The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on US Taxpayers” “estimates the annual costs of illegal immigration at the federal, state and local level to be about $113 Billion; nearly $29 Billion at the federal level and $84 Billion at the state and local level”.
Today’s and future costs are significantly greater. The $113 Billion did not include the cost of humans and illicit drugs trafficking, lost citizen’s wages, the society’s drug users and crime victims nor positive benefit factors as less crime from repeat deported criminals, safer streets and communities.
The recent MIT and the anti-Trump Washington Post’s fact checker estimated the wall cost could be as high as $25 to $41 Billion for the entire border length.
Reducing the annual costs by 10%, the worse-case Wall Cost would be repaid within 2 to 4 years !!!
When did any government (or any financial adviser) make an investment with a 25% to 50% return within the first year followed by that annuity for life?
It would be just a bonus if Mexico made any repayment-
Kevin Watson says:
When you remove a parasite, it’s mere removal is enough…. the rest will take care of itself.
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“Cheap” goods from Mexico don’t help much when the US consumer can’t get a job.
“Cheap” products that break quickly, especially cars, do NOT help the US economy at all.
We need to stop using Mexico and other countries as slave labor.
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brucefandrews says:
Donald Trump is a pragmatist and doesn’t do something that will cause problems somewhere
else. He already has a plan to make sure that the expense does not come back on us. For one the money that is confiscated from drug dealers can be a source. Another source id to take all the bank accounts from the illegal Mexicans and their families. (If it can be proven that any moneys in other family’s bank accounts are connected to the illegal). Take all moneys from human traffickers. Take all money that can be connected to illegal activities between Americans and Mexicans. ETC and so on. Not only pay for the wall but have a large amount left over to pay back Americans for that money that congress stole from our Social Security. -
Kbuzz says:
Tariffs hit the consumer, that means the US people will be paying the tariff – True, or it could also mean the Consumer won’t BUY the product…which in turn means the producer can’t sell the product because there is no market. Producer has to fire people or go out of business, which means he won’t be paying taxes to his government. Loss of revenue means social programs suffer as well as kick-backs to corrupt mexican politicians.
Trump knows exactly what he is doing.-
Chewbacca Solo says:
Yes he has the economics degree, unlike politicians. Watch who fights him through his entire term, All establishment related…
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Steven Coy says:
ARE YOU PEOPLE SAYING THAT YOU CAN’T BUY OTHER COUNTRIES PRODUCTS?? I DON’T BUY FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FROM MEXICO SO I DON’T CARE AND AS FAR AS CARS I DON’T BUY THEM FROM MEXICO EITHER. IF WE STOP ILLEGAL ALIENS FROM COMING INTO THIS COUNTRY AND STOP THE DRUGS AND DEPORT THE 30-40 ILLEGAL ALIENS BACK TO WHERE EVER THEY CAME FROM WE TAX PAYERS WILL GET A $60 BILLION BOOST FROM THE NEGATIVE TRADE AND $1 TRILLION DOLLARS FROM THE COST OF SUPPORTING THE ILLEGAL ALIENS EVERY YEAR AND IT WILL GIVE AMERICAN WORKERS 13-15 MILLION JOBS THAT THEY NOW ARE WORKING!!! ALSO THIS SO CALLED , THEY ARE PAYING TAXES!!!! YOU FORGET MOST OF THESE ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE IN POVERTY INCOME AND THEY GET ALL THE TAX MONEY BACK AND THEY GET FOOD STAMPS STATE AID HOSPITALIZATION SCHOOLING AND A BONUS TAX REFUND THAT HAS BEEN IN THE $20 BILLION RANGE SO THEY DO NOT PAY TAXES AND COST US TO BUILD MORE SCHOOLS HOSPITALS PRISONS POLICE AND THEY HAVE MURDERED OVER 18,000 AMERICANS SINCE 9/11 THAT WE KNOW OF. THIS IS A WIN WIN FOR US AND THEY WILL CAVE AND WE WILL WIN!!! STOP WHINING AND LET TRUMP DO SOMETHING AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS, IT IS NOT GOING TO BE ANYWHERE AS BAD AS WHAT WE HAVE WITH 8 YEARS OF THE ILLEGAL NOT BLACK HALF BREED MARXIST SUNNI MUSLIM TREASONOUS TRAITOR WHO HAS BURRIED US IN $9.3 TRILLION IN NEW NATIONAL DEBT, RUINED OUR HEALTH CARE WITH OBAMINATIONS UN-AFFORDABLE DEATH CARE THAT YOU DEMO-RATS/MARXISTS/MUSLIMS NEVER READ BEFORE PASSING, DOUBLED POVERTY, DOUBLED FOOD STAMPS, STARTED ISIS, MADE UP A STORY WITH THE ESPIONAGE AGENT HITLERY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN BENGHAZI AND LET 4 AMERICANS GET MURDERED BY THE IGNORANT CULTIST TERRORIST MUSLIMS AND DON’T FORGET THE IRS SCANDAL, THE RAISING OF OUR TAXES EVERY YEAR FOR 8 YEARS AND THE BAILOUT OF WALL STREET, BIG BANKS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES THE RICHEST CORPORATIONS IN THE WORLD AND NOW THE BANKS ARE IN WORSE SHAPE THAN EVER BEFORE BY 4 TIMES AND ARE ON THE VERGE OF COLLAPSING AND THEY OWE SO MUCH WE CANNOT BAIL THEM OUT AGAIN,AND LASTLY DON’T FORGET YOU LIBERALS OBAMINATION AND HITLERY SOLD ALL THE TERRORIST NATIONS IN THE WORLD OVER $120 BILLION DOLLARS IN ARMS, MUNITIONS FIGHTER JETS AND OUR HAND HELD ROCKET LAUNCHERS!!!! VIETNAM VET
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lark2 says:
Why don’t you just shut up and wait until the administration negotiates things that need to be negotiated. Of course Mexican President Nieto is under pressure at home. He has the FORMER president saying …… “I am not going to pay for that Fu . cking wall “. It’s like OBAMA saying “I am not going to allow any wall”. By running your mouth in ignorance you intend only to obstruct. You are making a case for the administration to act in secret so that they can do the job that needs to be done. The Obama people just operated in secret … they called it “benefiting from a lack of transparency”. You want the Trump people to quote “chapter and verse” so you can explode every day. This is going to lead to SILENCE … then you will complain about the silence.
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