Posted on 03/15/2025 5:30:34 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Victor Davis Hanson explains the strategy of using tariffs against Mexico to stop the spread of fentanyl and U.S. money going to cartels. From The Daily Signal's 'Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words' series:
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Donald Trump has threatened all sorts of trade sanctions on Mexico at 25% tariff, but why is he doing this? And I think the answer is there's four things that Mexico knows it has been doing to us with impunity, especially under Joe Biden, that are not sustainable. The first, it used to run under NAFTA, 10 to $20 billion trade surplus.
Then it went to 40, then it went to 50. And then during Donald Trump's first term, he renegotiated it, it kind of stayed static. Now it's over $175 billion, but get this, it's mostly due to China evading tariffs on China by sending raw product materials to Mexico, computers, phones, appliances to be assembled by Mexicans and then sent under free trade agreements with us to the benefit of Mexico and China.
But $175 billion, that is the second largest trade surplus of any country. It's getting close to China's itself. Number two is that we had this open border.
Mr. Obrador, the former president, said it was a beautiful thing that 40 million people, Mexicans, had come in illegally to the United States. 12 million or more came in during Joe Biden's tenure. That was all done with the contrivance of Mexico.
Remember, Mexico looked at that open border as a win, win, win, win situation. Number one, in Frederick Jackson Turner's theory of the safety valve, they thought that when people were dissatisfied and underserved in Mexico, especially Southern Mexicans who were indigenous and subject to a great deal of hostility and prejudice
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
I agree, Mexico thought we were not serious.
End of the workday, east of downtown San Diego, you can see dozens of Los Angeles County maintenance trucks, “heading home” to the border area.
The Mexican President has cartels for pimps
America is on a course to return to the American mean.
Mexico is a criminal enterprise.
Canada is a failed wannabe European nation polluted by immigrants.
Thanks for posting. Victor Davis Hanson is an American treasure.
VDH ping
The anti-Americanism of so much of Mexico’s political class has been contnually hurting Mexico (why so many Mexicans would rather go to the U.S.) while making corruption ever stronger and helping Marxist regimes (Cuba, Venezuela and China).
It is reasonable that we demand a standard of our neighbors. Mexico is a failed state. They don’t control most of their land at night. Canada is a vestal of China. They have more immigrants who came in the past thirty years than the population before that. The history of Canada or Mexico does not matter. As those are not the same people, they have no history in North America. The Mexican gangs are the real government. The Asians have most of the Canadian population. So restating, and renegotiating the rules is required.
Precisely and correctly stated.
Mexico is an enemy. Canada is no friend
Mexico considers us to be a ‘pot of gold’ to be drained by sending as many grifters here as possible. The amount of money sent back to Mexico is likely staggering.
Pretty much sums it up!
Reminds me of when the Northern states would give free passage to escaped slaves rather than follow Federal law.
The “Reconquista” has been successfully prosecuted so far.
That didn’t work out so well in the end, did it? Just look at the garden spots like Chicago and Detroit.
messyco has never been a friend of the USA and only a fool would think otherwise. Proof? They’ve sent an armed invading force that has occupied parts of America even as we speak.
Until we have a mass outflow of illegals from Mexico and elsewhere, we aren’t. We can make noise about it, but we’re not serious until we get it done.
Meanwhile, a curious list of 43 countries where we’re to some degree curtailing visas:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14501691/trump-travel-ban-countries-list-visa.html
Where’s China?
A very unfortunate comparison to suggest.
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