US threatensMexicowith20%tax
CRISIS DEEPENS White House says levy off imports to be used to build wall
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump kept up his criticism of Mexico on Friday, saying it “has taken advantage of the US for long enough,” as a crisis over border security and trade deepened.
“Massive trade deficits & little help on the very weak border must change NOW!” Trump tweeted.
The United States on Thursday had threatened 20% duty on imports from Mexico to pay for a wall Trump plans to build along the border with the country’s southern neighbour, and then backtracked saying it was only a proposal, just an idea.
By the end of the day, Trump had on his hands his first international dispute without a considered response to Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto, who called off their meeting scheduled for next week. Nieto, who had been under intense pressure to stand up to Trump tweeted: “This morning we have informed the White House that I will not attend the meeting scheduled for next Tuesday with the POTUS.”
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in the afternoon Trump favoured a plan to impose an import duty of 20% on Mexican imports to fund the wall. And then called it only an “idea”, adding, “Instead of 20% it could be 18, it could be 5.”
The wall is estimated to cost upwards of $10 billion, which is the figure Spicer is citing in his calculation. Trump set up the math in a tweet on Thursday morning, arguing Mexico could pay for it from its $50 billion trade surplus with the US.
This wall was the centrepiece of his election plank, which he trotted out dutifully in every election speech and at every rally and led supporters into chanting “build the wall”. He would remind them of his promise to make Mexico pay for it. Trump on Friday intended to sign an executive action on temporarily halting the flow of refugees into the US and stopping all entries from some majority-Muslim nations, his spokesman said.
A draft of the order obtained by The AP also includes an indefinite ban on accepting Syrian refugees, and the pause in the broader refugee program extends for 120 days.