Editorial: Trump tariffs are Mexican standoff

A week ago, it was infrastructure versus a trade deal.

“Before we get to infrastructure, it is my strong view that Congress should first pass the important and popular (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) trade deal,” President Trump wrote to Democratic leaders ahead of a planned meeting.

The USMCA was negotiated between the three nations in November, bringing peace to North America in the midst of the global trade war touched off by the tariffs Trump announced in January 2018.

Although signed with fanfare, that was a bit like moving into a new house before applying for a mortgage. Tariffs are something the president can do unilaterally. A trade deal requires Congressional approval. Seven months after the USMCA announcement, that approval still hasn’t come.

And after the president’s trade-war call to arms this week, you have to wonder if there is a deal to approve at all.

Trump announced a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports. From avocados to automobiles, everything would be hit as the president demands an end to illegal migration. In a month, it would double, rising 5% every month until October when it hits 25%.

Our borders must be secured, but how does holding a knife to our economic throat do that? Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators agree.

“The president is right to point out the crisis at our southern border. However, a blanket tax increase on everything Americans purchase from Mexico is the wrong remedy,” said Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, in a statement Friday.

“Tariffs are a dangerous and risky economic tool. They raise the cost of products for American families, reduce market share abroad for U.S. exporters, and make our economy less competitive globally. History has shown us time and again that nobody wins a trade war: Trade is mutually beneficial, and trade restrictions, like tariffs, are mutually harmful. … The president’s use of tax hikes on Americans as a tool to affect change in Mexican policy is misguided. It is past time for Congress to step up and reassert its Constitutional responsibility on tariffs.”

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, says migration needs to be addressed legislatively, too.

“This action will do nothing to secure the border or fix our broken immigration system. Trump should work with Democrats and Republicans to pass into law an immigration reform bill that is modeled after the 2013 effort, which achieved 68 votes in the Senate. It would bring rules and certainty to our immigration system, secure the border and offer a path to citizenship to law-abiding, undocumented immigrants,” he said in a statement.

The economy is Trump’s greatest campaign commercial heading into the 2020 election. Is this really the time for a Mexican standoff?