Former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at his farm, Monday, September 23, 2024, in Smithton, Pennsylvania.
Alex Brandon AP
Former President Donald Trump was threatening John Deere at a rate of 200% if agricultural manufacturers move production to factories in Mexico.
“They’ve announced a few days ago that they’re going to move a lot of their manufacturing businesses to Mexico,” the Republican candidate said at a policy roundtable in Smithton, Pa., hosted by the Protecting America Initiative.
“I just put John Deere on notice right now: If you do that, we’re going to put a 200% tariff on everything you want to sell to the United States,” said Trump, who has made tariffs a central focus of his campaign. economic policy.
John Deere has announced that it plans to move the production of some of its models to Mexico, a move that has caused layoffs at the facility in Iowa.
“It’s hurting our farmers. It’s hurting our manufacturers,” Trump said Friday.
Reached by CNBC for comment, John Deere pointed to a page on its website titled “John Deere’s Commitment to US Manufacturing,” where it touted its investment in American factories and workers.
The page also states that, “To position US factories to perform these highly additive activities, it is sometimes necessary to move less complex operations, such as cab assembly, to other locations.”
Monday appears to be the first time Trump has singled out John Deere. The former president’s comments also seemed off the cuff, prompted only by the John Deere tractor set as the backdrop of the event.
As of 6 p.m. ET, Deere shares were down 1.7% in after-hours trading after Trump made the threat shortly after Monday’s closing bell.
The former president also made similar threats Monday to automakers that make cars in Mexico.
“We’re going to put a huge tariff on the cars that come here by 100 to 200%, and they’re not going to be competitive anymore,” he said, “so you better stay in Michigan.”
