28 January,2017 09:30 AM IST | | Agencies
However, the US President's tax plan is in its early stages has not been finalised
The tax proposal could likely affect Indian and Chinese imports
Washington: The US has warned it may impose a 20 per cent tax on imports from countries with a trade deficit with it to fund a wall President Donald Trump wants to build along America's southern border with Mexico, the White House has said.
The proposal, however, is currently only for Mexico, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said.
This is one of the ways to pay for the wall that the US is planning to construct along the US-Mexico border. But on a broader scale, such a statement from Trump administration indicates imports from other countries, like India and China, could also be hit by the tax proposal, given the trade deficit the US has with them.
"When you look at the plan that's taking shape now, using comprehensive tax reform as a means to tax imports from countries that we have a trade deficit with, like Mexico.
Though it is currently only for Mexico. Pic/AFP
"If you tax that $50 billion at 20 per cent of imports, which is by the way a practice that 160 other countries do. By doing it we can do $10 billion a year and easily pay for the wall," Spicer said.
"The net positive that you have to realise is that through the wall, not only do we secure our border but I think we are going to save additional money that we would have had to spend on tracking down illegal immigrants and on immigration," Spicer said.
