Tuesday, June 4, 2019 | 2 a.m.
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President Donald Trump’s tariff threat against Mexico has set off alarm bells among U.S. business and political leaders, and with good reason. It’s an irrational and unwarranted attack on a nation that is a close friend of America and deserves to be treated like one, not subjected to a fit of belligerence that could implode Mexico’s economy and cause massive collateral damage to the U.S. economy.
Our southern neighbor this year became our top trade partner, climbing above Canada and China. Mexico sent just shy of $350 billion worth of goods to the U.S. last year and is a key provider of such necessities as automobiles and food products, along with an array of other products that filter through virtually the entire U.S. economy. Wiring, vehicle parts, air conditioning and heating components, beer, medical instruments — the list goes on and on.
That being the case, Trump’s tariffs are a threat both north and south of the border.
“This is going to be felt by every sector and it’s going to be felt by consumers. Not just by businesses. Not just the auto industry. It’s going to be felt more widely and deeply than previous tariffs were felt,” said Neil Bradley, the chief policy officer for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to CNN.
The tariffs are drawing backlash even from Republicans who have shamefully either looked the other way or cheered during Trump’s many infantile temper tantrums.
“He’s been known to play with fire but not live hand grenades,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said of Trump. “And if he slaps a 25% tariff on Mexico, it’s going to tank the American economy. And I think the president knows that and I don’t think he’ll do it.”
Maybe. But any adults who may be left in the administration need to step in before the threatened tariffs go into effect next month. They would start at 5% and be ratcheted up to 25% by October if Trump is allowed to continue going off the rails.
Instead of vilifying Mexico, we should be doing everything in our power to strengthen our relationship and increase our trading. This isn’t just some act of charity — it helps both nations.
Building our trade helps strengthen the middle class in Mexico, which benefits the U.S. not only by creating a bigger market for our products but by reducing the flow of undocumented immigrants. If families are doing well financially, after all, they’ll be less likely to uproot themselves.
Beyond that, it’s shamefully insulting for Trump to claim that Mexico isn’t working to reduce migration to the U.S. Even with a recent upswing in illegal border crossings that has been fueled partly by Trump’s policies, apprehensions at the border are down drastically from the early 2000s. That didn’t happen by accident — Mexico had a hand in reducing the flow. With continued cooperation, there’s no reason to believe the problem couldn’t be reduced further.
Which also applies to drug trafficking. Instead of punishing Mexico for failing to cut off the flow of drugs over the border, the U.S. should offer help in dealing with drug cartels. Let’s not forget that drug trafficking wouldn’t exist if not for demand in the U.S., meaning we have a responsibility to address the issue.
The tariff threat is pure insanity in action. It could even threaten the passage of the NAFTA redo that Trump has held up as a major accomplishment of his administration.
With all of this being the case, no wonder Mexico is responding testily.
“There is a clear limit to what we can negotiate, and the limit is Mexican dignity,” Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S., Martha Barcena, said Monday.
That’s an understandable reaction.
The U.S. and Mexico are close neighbors and tight friends, with cultures that have become deeply and richly commingled.
Our fortunes are bound together permanently. It’s past time to stop this toxic approach toward Mexico.
