The White House on Thursday said President Donald Trump is considering a 20% tax on imports from Mexico to pay for a southern border wall, but that the President is still weighing other options.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Air Force One Thursday that Trump was backing the proposal and had just discussed it with congressional Republicans in a private meeting.
Hours later, amid an uproar from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, Spicer said that he was simply putting forward one idea Trump is considering to show how the administration could fund the multibillion-dollar construction of a wall on the US’s southern border. Spicer repeatedly said the White House was aiming to be “illustrative” rather than “prescriptive” as he walked back the more definitive comments he made earlier Thursday.
“Part of our goal today was to demonstrate that there is an easy way – or several ways – tone is to generate the reviews because the cost of the wall in the big picture is really not that significant,” he said. “Imports (are) one way. I just want to be clear that we’re not being prescriptive in saying that is the only way nor is the rate prescriptive.”
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus also told reporters the White House is considering a “buffet of options” as it considers how to pay for the border wall.
Peña Nieto Meeting canceled
The discussion over an import tax to pay for the project comes after Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled a planned meeting with Trump after the US president signed an executive order Wednesday kicking off the process of building the border wall and vowed once again to force Mexico to pay for it – something Mexico has adamantly rejected.
Spicer also said Thursday evening that revenue from a tax on Mexican imports or other revenue streams that didn’t involve a direct payment from the Mexican government would fulfill Trump’s campaign pledge to compel Mexico to pay for the border wall.
The White House press secretary rebuffed questions from reporters about the impact of a 20% tax on imports from Mexico on American consumers, insisting such criticism was “short-sighted.” Businesses that manufacture US consumer goods in Mexico would inevitably pass on an import tax to American consumers, who could see the price of many goods soar.
Spicer first said Thursday that Trump was on board with a plan by congressional Republicans to tax imports from Mexico as part of broader comprehensive tax reform legislation to help pay for the border wall.
“By doing it that way we can do $10 billion a year and easily pay for the wall just through that mechanism alone. That’s really going to provide the funding,” Spicer had said, referring to a 20% tax. According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, Mexico’s exports to the US in 2015 was valued at $316.4 billion. The trade deficit is estimated to be $50 billion.