Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum had a stronger tone in response to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threat. In a letter to Trump, she warned that imposing tariffs would kill jobs in both countries and hinted at possible retaliatory tax increases on American imports.
In addition to that possibility, there are many questions surrounding the threat of tariffs. Will they actually roll out after President-elect Trump takes office in January? If they do, how will they impact the typical U.S. household?
MORE INFORMATIONL Trump’s latest tariff plan aims at multiple countries. What does it mean for the US?
KPRC 2′s Lisa Hernandez and Andy Cerota sat down with Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, to discuss these concerns.
KPRC 2′s Lisa Hernandez: Joining us to talk about it this afternoon is Rice University Professor Mark Jones. Mark, thanks for spending some time with us this afternoon. We just heard the breakdown from NBC News about how the president-elect is justifying massive tariffs on goods coming in, not just in China, but now also Canada and Mexico. How will this impact wallets here at home?
Mark Jones: Well, if that actually occurs, it will have a pretty dramatic impact on the prices Americans pay for a wide range of goods, ranging from fruits, vegetables, to things like automobiles. These are our three largest trading partners. We report about a third of our imports from Mexico and Canada, and another 15% from China. If this were to go through, we all would be paying more in prices if we could even get the product.
Andy Cerota, KPRC 2: It could be a couple of weeks, Mark, before the tariffs he declares on day one will actually take effect. Is that enough time for these countries to work out some sort of arrangement with the U.S. that could lower those tariffs?
Mark Jones: Well, I think if the president is doing this primarily to get them to change their immigration policies and, to a lesser extent, their drug policies, related to fentanyl, in terms of preventing it coming into the United States, there is time. Because it may not be required that they actually solve the problem, but they’re making good progress ramping up their internal security related to immigrants to prevent, say, pretty good next, a cold but also Canada being used as a launching pad for undocumented immigrants to come into the United States, as well as a source of fentanyl coming in as well.
Lisa Hernandez, KPRC 2: In his first term, President Trump got rid of NAFTA. He replaced it with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. That agreement made Mexico and Canada exempt from tariffs, so how would he get around that?
Mark Jones: Well, he would effectively have to blow up the USMCA, which is one of his real signature achievements in regard to foreign policy during his first term. It’s not due for renegotiation until 2026. So, if he unilaterally imposed these tariffs, it would effectively be blowing up the treaty, and we would probably see Mexico and Canada retaliate with their own tariffs.
Andy Cerota, KPRC 2: Last question before we let you go: Given the negative impacts that could result here, do you think the president-elect will ultimately follow through with this?
Mark Jones: Well, it’s a game of chicken with Mexico, China, and Canada in the sense that if they believe he may go through with it, they’re going to be more likely to do things to block immigration and block the transfer of fentanyl to the United States. But if he does go through with it, then that could have a devastating effect on the pocketbooks of Americans. And, like, we’ve had inflation going down over the past few months, it would start to rise back up again if tariffs were imposed and prices increased for fruits, vegetables, as well as manufactured goods.
MORE FROM MARK JONES: What we can expect from President-elect Trump’s cabinet selections
