White House suggests 20% tax on Mexican imports
The feud between the White House and the Mexican government escalated on Thursday when the US press secretary suggested implementing a 20% border tax on goods coming from Mexico to pay for the wall the president intends to build across the southern border. White House press secretary Sean Spicer originally told reporters about the plan on Air Force One as the president returned from a Republican retreat in Philadelphia, before later walking the idea back slightly. “By doing it that way we can do $10bn a year and easily pay for the wall just through that mechanism alone. That’s really going to provide the funding,” he said. Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus, later said that the tax was just one of a “buffet of options” the president had to ensure Mexico paid for the wall. Mexican government officials have criticized the ramifications of a border tax and earlier on Thursday Mexico’s president, Peña Nieto, cancelled a planned visit to the White House.