MAKING Mexico pay for a border wall was Donald Trump’s flagship campaign promise. Already, it has already caused a diplomatic crisis. On January 26th Enrique Peña Nieto, Mexico’s president, pulled out of a scheduled summit with Mr Trump, who had earlier suggested that if Mexico was not going to pay for the wall, then there was no point in having the meeting. Then, for a brief moment, it looked as if the White House was declaring a trade war, when reports surfaced on Twitter that the Sean Spicer, the White House Press Secretary, had said that a 20% tariff on Mexican imports would raise the necessary funds.
Those reports, it turned out, were not quite right. Mr Spicer in fact suggested that a deal was nearing on corporate tax reform. He implied that it would include the so-called "border-adjustment” Republicans in the House of Representatives have long sought. That change could pay for the wall, he said. (He later told a reporter he was only discussing “possible” policy moves).
Border-adjustment would change the way firms calculate their profits for tax purposes. Revenue made from exports would no longer count. Neither would costs incurred by importing...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/2kpT92d
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