Former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump emphasized in a recent speech that comprehensive tariffs will be imposed on imported cars, including those from Mexico and the European Union. He also stated that if he wins a new term, he will place the rise of US trade protectionism at the core of his agenda.
During his speech at the Chicago Economic Club on Tuesday (October 15th), Trump fiercely criticized European car manufacturers, including Mercedes Benz, and vowed to impose high tariffs on imported cars, stating that this is the only way to force production back to the United States.
Trump pointed out, "We will impose tariffs on them... so Mercedes Benz will start building factories in the United States. Now, they manufacture everything in Germany and assemble it here, and they can escape some tariffs
Debating tariff policies vigorously
Trump expanded the scope and scale of his trade commitments during this year's campaign, planning to impose tariffs of up to 20% on all imported goods, 60% on all Chinese imports, and other tariffs on countries that are abandoning the use of the US dollar.
In his opening remarks, Trump claimed that he would impose tariffs on imported goods and reduce taxes on domestic businesses. "For me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariffs," he said
Trump himself insists that tariffs will have a huge and positive impact on the economy, and if the United States imposes high tariffs, foreign or domestic producers will move their factories to the United States. The higher the tariffs, the more likely companies are to enter the United States and build factories there
The Republican presidential candidate also pointed the finger at cars imported from Mexico, stating, "If I become the president of this country, I will impose tariffs of up to 2000% on cars from Mexico, and they will not sell a car to the United States
In addition to the tariff issue, Trump also stated in this speech that if he wins the election, he will not attempt to intervene in what the central bank does in monetary policy, but he said that the president should be allowed to talk about interest rates.
Trump avoided the question of whether he would seek to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Powell from his position, but he said that it is fair for the president to tell the central bank governor how he believes interest rates should change.
However, economists have warned that Trump's tariff plan, as well as other factors in his economic agenda such as comprehensive tax cuts and efforts to weaken the independence of the Federal Reserve, could trigger a new inflation spiral in the United States, increasing costs for ordinary consumers.
According to a recent survey conducted by American media from October 4th to 8th, 68% of respondents stated that they believe that if Trump is re elected, the inflation rate in the United States will rise faster in his second term than if Harris were elected president.
In addition, 65% of economists believe that compared to Harris' policy agenda, Trump's policies will increase the country's deficit more. This proportion has also increased by 14 percentage points compared to the survey in July.