President Trump says he’ll double tariffs on Mexico unless it stops migrant caravans heading north. “MEXICO MUST STOP THEM, NOW, and if they do not do so, the Tariffs on Mexico will be IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED,” he wrote on Truth Social Thursday morning. “There will be no leniency!”
The trigger is a group of about 1,500 people, mostly from Central America, who set off Tuesday from Tapachula, near Mexico’s border with Guatemala, Fox News reported. Tapachula is at the far southern tip of Mexico, and caravans that start there often break up long before they get close to the U.S.
What did Trump say about the midterms?
He opened the post by tying it to last week’s election. “With the perceived loss by the Republicans in the Midterms – I WAS NOT ON THE BALLOT- the INVASION of our Country is taking place again,” he wrote, as HuffPost reported. He also said Mexico, Border Patrol, ICE and “THE VERY LIBERAL NEW GOVERNOR OF TEXAS” had all been informed. That’s Gina Hinojosa, who beat Gov. Greg Abbott on Nov. 3 to become the state’s first Democratic governor in more than 30 years.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum answered at her morning press conference, SDP Noticias reported. She said no large caravan has reached the northern border since Trump took office, that only two groups have been spotted in southern Mexico, and that her government tells migrants getting into the U.S. is very difficult. She said the right response is to keep a cool head.
Which tariffs would double, and what would it cost you?
Trump didn’t say. Most goods from Mexico come in duty-free under the USMCA trade deal, while goods outside the deal, plus steel, aluminum and cars, face separate tariffs. Doubling those would hit things Americans buy from Mexico every week: tomatoes, avocados, berries, beer and car parts. Tariffs are paid by the U.S. importer, and a lot of that cost shows up on store shelves.
That’s the last thing shoppers need right now. Prices rose 0.4% in October, more than expected, and gas only just dropped back under $4. And voters in last week’s midterms said prices were their top problem.
Will Trump actually do it?
He’s done this before. In 2019 he threatened a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods over migration, and Mexico agreed to send National Guard troops to its southern border before the tariff ever took effect. Threats like this one often end in a deal rather than a tax.
This time could be different. But Thursday’s post set no deadline and gave no numbers, which leaves businesses on both sides of the border guessing.
The BeezLoop Take
Using tariffs as a migration weapon means making Americans pay higher grocery prices to pressure another government over a caravan that’s still at Mexico’s southern border. Trump is free to push Mexico on the border, and Mexico does have a role to play. But the cost of this threat lands on U.S. shoppers first.
Calling a midterm where his party lost both chambers a “perceived loss” also tells you he isn’t hearing the message. Voters said prices. A tariff hike is the opposite of what they asked for.
The open question: does Mexico make another public show of stopping the caravan, or does Trump actually raise prices on Mexican imports heading into the holidays?
Sources: Fox News · HuffPost via Yahoo News · SDP Noticias (Spanish) · Fox Business (2019 video)
