Presidential hopeful: Republican candidate and former US President Trump also proposed tariffs of as much as 60% on all Chinese goods and 10% on goods made anywhere in the world. — AFP
NEW YORK: Donald Trump says he will hit cars made in Mexico by Chinese companies with a 100% tariff, double the levy he has previously said he would put on automobiles made south of the US border.
Trump addressed Chinese President Xi Jinping directly during a rally speech in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday when threatening the tariffs.
“Those big monster car manufacturing plants you are building in Mexico right now and you think you are going to get that – not hire Americans and you’re going to sell the car to us, no,” Trump said.
“We are going to put a 100% tariff on every car that comes across the lot.”
He continued by saying it would be a “bloodbath” if he didn’t win this year’s US presidential election.
President Joe Biden’s campaign criticised the remarks, pointing to the attack by rioters on the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021, after Trump lost his first reelection bid.
“This is who Donald Trump is: a loser who gets beat by over seven million votes and then instead of appealing to a wider mainstream audience doubles down on his threats of political violence,” campaign spokesperson James Singer said.
“He wants another Jan 6, but the American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge.”
Earlier this month Trump threatened a 50% tariff on Chinese cars.
He has also proposed tariffs of as much as 60% on all Chinese goods and 10% on goods made anywhere in the world.
He said he’s not worried about retaliatory measures from China or other countries.
“You screw us and we’ll screw you,” he said.
“It’s very simple, very fair.”
Trump clinched the Republican Party’s nomination last Tuesday night, allowing him to fully turn his attention toward a rematch with Biden in November.
Biden won enough delegates for the Democratic nomination. — Bloomberg
