The presidential administration of Donald Trump came up with a brilliant idea to pay for the Mexican border wall yesterday. Instead of having Mexicans pay for the wall, he’d have Americans pay for the wall, through a 20 percent border tax on imported goods. And wouldn’t you know it, a lot of cars are imported from Mexico.
We’ve taken the liberty to calculate just how much those cars will cost you with their shiny new 20 percent price bump, thanks to the new president and his wall.
Call this a thought exercise. No one is sure how exactly the Trump administration could implement such a tax, whether it would be per each imported good or overall somehow. But let’s assume it’s the former, so we’re calculated a 20 percent increase from the current base price of every vehicle.
It should be noted that almost immediately after news broke of the potential border tax, White House officials walked back their remarks, saying that paying for the wall this way was just, well, it was just one of a lot of options, okay? Via the New York Times:
But a furious uproar prompted Mr. Spicer to temper his earlier remarks, saying the plan was simply “one idea” that might work to finance the wall. Mr. Spicer said it was not the job of the White House to “roll something out” on tax policy, while Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said the administration was considering “a buffet of options.”
Either way it’s going to be an expensive buffet for someone. We should say that this isn’t a direct tax on consumers, but that’s likely how it will end up, as corporations don’t like to absorb costs. They always pass the savings—and the increased expenses—on to you. Either way, Trump’s whole “Mexico will pay for the wall” was clearly a complete lie, as now you, Americans, will pay for the wall.
We should also say that a likely scenario for many of these cars, if this tax comes to pass, is that they will cease being sold in the United States. They tend to be small cars, which are unpopular at the moment anyway given how cheap gas is, and thus with a low profit margin. If you think Ford will bother selling the Fiesta here at all if the price goes up 20 percent, forget it.
“Oh ho ho,” you say. “But now the companies will just bring the manufacturing into the United States, and the price will magically stay cheap!” Not so fast. Even if that sort of scenario does come to pass, which it won’t, new manufacturing facilities take time to build anew or build out. That fantasy is years out, at best.
I’ve got nothing against the American worker or American jobs. Hell, we’re all American workers with American jobs. But if you want to buy American, or have the big beautiful wall, you’re going to have to pay for it.
(Please note! For some of these cars, not every example is built in Mexico. For example, not all Ram pickup trucks are made in Mexico, but the regular cab light-duty Rams are. Those are the ones we’ve based the pricing on.)
Ford Fiesta
Old Price: $13,660
Mexican Wall Price: $16,392
Ford Fiesta ST
Old Price: $21,140
Mexican Wall Price: $25,368
Ford Fusion
Old Price: $22,120
Mexican Wall Price: $26,544
Lincoln MKZ
Old Price: $35,170
Mexican Wall Price: $42,204
Ram 1500
Old Price: $26,395
Mexican Wall Price: $31,674
Ram Heavy Duty
Old Price: $33,245
Mexican Wall Price: $39,894
Ram Promaster
Old Price: $27,935
Mexican Wall Price: $33,522
Toyota Yaris iA
Old Price: $15,950
Mexican Wall Price: $19,140
Toyota Tacoma (Double Cab)
Old Price: $24,950
Mexican Wall Price: $29,940
Mazda 3
Old Price: $17,845
Mexican Wall Price: $21,414
Jeep Compass
Old Price: $19,940
Mexican Wall Price: $23,928
Dodge Journey
Old Price: $21,145
Mexican Wall Price: $25,374
Fiat 500
Old Price: $14,995
Mexican Wall Price: $17,994
Fiat 500 Abarth
Old Price: $19,995
Mexican Wall Price: $23,994
Nissan Sentra
Old Price: $16,990
Mexican Wall Price: $20,388
Nissan Versa
Old Price: $11,990
Mexican Wall Price: $14,388
Nissan NV200
Old Price: $21,330
Mexican Wall Price: $25,596
Honda Fit
Old Price: $16,090
Mexican Wall Price: $19,308
Honda HR-V
Old Price: $19,465
Mexican Wall Price: $23,358
Honda CR-V
Old Price: $24,045
Mexican Wall Price: $28,854
Volkswagen Jetta
Old Price: $17,895
Mexican Wall Price: $21,474
Volkswagen Golf
Old Price: $19,895
Mexican Wall Price: $23,874
Volkswagen Beetle
Old Price: $19,995
Mexican Wall Price: $23,874
Volkswagen GTI
Old Price: $25,595
Mexican Wall Price: $30,714
Enjoy the wall everyone.
DISCUSSION
It’s a car blog, seems like all it is lately is a way to critique the new administration. Get back to car stories, if I want political comedy I will go to the huffington post.
What ever it costs it will be well worth it.