Former President Donald Trump has threatened to ramp up tariffs on John Deere if the company continues with plans to move production of some models to Mexico.
Republican nominee Trump made his feelings known about the plan during a policy roundtable in Smithton, Pennsylvania, hosted by the Protecting America Initiative.
“They’ve announced a few days ago that they’re going to move a lot of their manufacturing business to Mexico,” Trump said. “I’m just notifying John Deere right now: If you do that, we’re putting a 200 percent tariff on everything that you want to sell into the United States.” Newsweek has contacted John Deere for comment via email outside of standard working hours.
However, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) signed by Trump in January 2020, a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), prohibits the leverage of tariffs on a range of goods, allowing companies to manufacture in Mexico and Canada and export back to the U.S. without high costs.
If Trump wanted to slap higher levies on John Deere and any companies vying to make similar moves, he would need to repeal the agreement. Withdrawal of trade agreements requires action from Congress.
__________________
