Economics
Trump’s Newest Tariff Threat Ripples Across 2020 Battlegrounds
- Auto industry, farmers would feel brunt of U.S.-Mexico dispute
- Any retaliation by Mexico would strike at president’s base
Photographer: Ty Wright/Bloomberg
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The economic damage of U.S. tariffs on Mexican goods would tear through battleground states that President Donald Trump needs to win re-election, hurting the auto industry in Michigan and Ohio, dairy farmers in Wisconsin and grain and hog farmers in Iowa and North Carolina.
In a pair of tweets Thursday night, Trump warned he’d impose tariffs on Mexico starting at 5% on June 10 and ramping up in increments to 25% in October unless Mexico stops immigrants from entering the U.S. illegally.