WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday said he would apply a 200% tariff on John Deere imports if the agricultural equipment company moves production to Mexico, as planned.
“As you know, they’ve announced a few days ago that they are going to move a lot of their manufacturing business to Mexico,” Trump said at an event on agriculture and China held in western Pennsylvania.
“I am just notifying John Deere right now that if you do that, we are putting a 200% tariff on everything that you want to sell into the United States.”
Earlier this year, the agricultural equipment manufacturer announced that it was laying off some employees in the American Midwest and increasing its production capacity in Mexico, a decision that has upset workers and some political leaders.
Trump has frequently said he would slap automakers that move their production to Mexico with 200% tariffs, but this appears to be the first time he has extended that threat to an agricultural equipment manufacturer.
A representative for John Deere did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Gram Slattery in Washington; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Chizu Nomiyama)