Former President Donald Trump says that if he is reelected, he will impose a 200-percent tariff on John Deere’s imports if the company follows through with its plan to move some of its production to Mexico.
“I know a lot about John Deere—I love the company. As you know, they’ve announced a few days ago that they are going to move a lot of their manufacturing business to Mexico,” Trump said at a roundtable Monday with farmers held in Smithton, Pennsylvania.
“I am just notifying John Deere right now that if you do that, we are putting a 200-percent tariff on everything that you want to sell into the United States,” said Trump.
John Deere says it is laying off more than 600 employees at three production plants in Illinois and Iowa, as well as an unannounced number of salaried employees at its corporate level. The company also said it plans to move the manufacturing of skid steer loaders and compact track loaders from its Dubuque, Iowa facility to Mexico by the end of 2026.
In spite of the layoffs, John Deere generated nearly $10.2 billion in profits in 2023, while the company’s CEO, John May, received $26.7 million in total compensation in 2023 according to the company’s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). May’s compensation in 2022 was listed at $20.3 million.
CLICK BELOW to watch Trump’s comments about John Deere beginning at the 59:11 mark:
