Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and others said President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs and ongoing trade war will hurt the economy and American consumers.
The tariffs, which Trump instituted on what he called “Liberation Day” impose a charge on foreign produced goods, with different rates for different countries.
Trump framed the tariffs as a way to address trade deficits with other countries, and as a way to make the system more “fair.”
The charges, experts say, are passed along to consumers.
On goods from China, for example, the tariffs will be 34% in addition to the 20% already imposed. The tariffs apply to all countries, even those that have been traditional allies for the United States, including a 20 percent tariff on goods from the European Union, a 10 percent tariff on goods from the United Kingdom and 24 percent tariff on goods from Japan.
Lujan Grisham called the tariffs “a massive tax increase on New Mexicans” and called them an “unnecessary and reckless tax on consumers.”
“These tariffs will make everything more expensive – from groceries and fuel to cars and building materials, electronics and more,” Lujan Grisham said. “At a time when household budgets already are stretched thin, these tariffs could cost American households $4,200 a year, according to an analysis by The Budget Lab at Yale University. Shockingly, the president openly stated he ‘couldn’t care less’ if automakers raise prices on American consumers.”
U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, who represents the border area with close trade relations with Mexico, called the moves “a tax hike on working people.”
“Southern New Mexico feeds the country and powers the state’s economy. These tariffs put all of that at risk,” said Vasquez. “When we punish our trading partners, we punish ourselves.”
Vasquez said that the tariffs would hit pecan growers, cattle ranchers and local producers hard.
Vasquez is a cosponsor of the Prevent Tariff Abuse Act which would bar the president from having unrestrained powers to impose tariffs.
Note: This story will be updated as NM Political Report receives more responses to the tariffs.
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