Trump Threatens to Impose New Tariffs on Mexico

Stay Aware & ProactiveHow Would New Tariffs on Mexico Impact You?

President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to impose new tariffs on all imported Mexico goods if the country does not step up its immigration enforcement actions.

Trump said in a White House statement that the first round of tariffs would begin on June 10 at 5% “on all goods imported from Mexico.”

The statement said Trump would carry out his threat under authority from the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and that he would lift tariffs only “if the illegal migration crisis is alleviated through effective actions taken by Mexico.”

The statement warned further that if Mexico does not act as Trump demands, tariffs would go up to 10% by July, 15% by August, 20% by September and reach a permanent level of 25% by October.

According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, US imports of goods from Mexico totaled $346.5 billion in 2018. That includes cars and machinery as well as agricultural products.

Federal law allows the use of tariffs by the president to deal with “any unusual and extraordinary threat” which deals with the “national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States,” but the new measures on Mexico will likely face swift legal challenges.

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Thursday that the White House counsel will have to provide the legal justification for the tariffs. Privately, officials have conceded it’s not clear the White House has the legal authority to impose tariffs on this scale. They are concerned that, because of the scope, the mandate will potentially face legal challenges that could leave it tied up in the courts before June 10 even gets here. He also added The White House did not reach out to congressional Democrats about the new tariffs.

On the other hand, Mexico’s president hinted on Saturday that his country could tighten migration controls in order to defuse Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexican goods. In a news conference in the Gulf of Mexico port of Veracruz, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Mexico could be ready to step up measures to contain migration in order to reach a deal with the United States.

SiliconExpert Can Help You Navigate the Potential Impact.

SiliconExpert is watching the situation closely and if the new tariffs applied, SiliconExpert has the data and expertise to help you identify:

The affected products of this new tariff.The Tariff Impact status (Impacted/Possibly Impacted/Not Impacted) depending on flags of Mexico country of origin.The cross-reference of the affected products to find the replacement of these products from another country of origin.

If immediate questions or needs, contact your local SiliconExpert representative at sales@siliconexpert.com.

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/us/politics/trump-mexico-tariffs.htmlhttps://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/30/politics/trump-mexico-tariffs-immigration/index.htmlhttps://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/01/politics/mexico-president-trump-tariff-threat/index.htmlhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/01/mexico-lopez-obrador-immigration-trump-tariffs