Trump threatens John Deere with harsh tariffs if it continues to sell Mexican-made equipment

During a campaign event in Pennsylvania, one of the most decisive swing states in the upcoming election, former President Donald Trump brought up his thoughts on tariffs, taking direct aim at farm equipment company Deere & Co. (John Deere), which is moving some of its production to Mexico.

The Republican candidate said that, if elected, John Deere would face a powerful 200% tariff if it sold equipment made in Mexico that was previously produced in the U.S.

The former president made this promise after accusing the company of outsourcing its production, a claim the farm equipment company denied.

"They think they’re going to make product cheaper in Mexico and sell it for the same price as before and make a lot of money getting rid of our labor and our jobs," Trump asserted forcefully. "If they’re going to do that, then we’re going to put a 200% tariff on everything they want to send back into the United States."

Trump's remarks come after the Illinois-based company announced in June that it would move some of its production of some models of small and medium construction loaders to its plant in Mexico from Dubuque, Iowa, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Two years ago, John Deere had already decided to move production of large farm tractor cabs to Mexico from Waterloo, Iowa, and the expectation is that by 2024, the move will be completed.

However, WSJ reported that John Deere executives explained that their decisions seek "to free up manufacturing space and employees at U.S. plants for other models."

According to the company, the Waterloo plant will begin assembling its new line of 9RX tractors instead of cabs.

Pointedly, John Deere rejected Trump's claims, saying the company invested more than $2.5 billion in its U.S. factories over the past four years.

"We are not in fact moving a lot of our manufacturing business to Mexico. ... We remain fully committed to our U.S. manufacturing footprint."

However, beyond the pointed mention of John Deere, Trump's words seem to be consistent with his effort to protect U.S. jobs this election. He promised to reduce unemployment by incentivizing foreign companies to move their factories to the United States to avoid high tariffs and take advantage of substantial tax breaks in a large market.

In fact, according to a senior Trump advisor who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, in upcoming campaign stops, Trump is likely to promise to attract foreign investment through tax breaks, such as lowering the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15%.