Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin says he's willing to “pay more for guacamole” under President-elect Trump's tariff plan if it means eliminating fentanyl from the United States. said.
Van Orden joined CNN's Boris Sánchez on Wednesday to talk about how Republicans can move forward with their tariff plan and their mass deportation plan without disrupting the country's food chain, as many immigrants work in food and agriculture. I was asked if I was planning to do so.
Van Orden responded, “That's what really was the inflation. The last four years of Biden's radical, out-of-control spending with this anti-inflation law, that's what caused the inflation.”
“Even if we have to pay more for guacamole, fentanyl addiction won't cross the Canada-Mexico border, and our mothers and sisters and brothers and daughters will never have to worry about this coming across the border. I'm willing to pay for guacamole like the rest of the United States, as long as it doesn't poison me with chemicals.”
On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump promised a tough and expansive tariff plan, but rarely revealed many details.
On Monday, he announced new tariffs on products from Canada, Mexico and China through an executive order on his first day in office.
He said he would impose 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% on Chinese products, many of which have already been subject to tariffs since the first term.
This idea is controversial even among economists. Many believe there is little correlation between higher tariffs and a stronger U.S. workforce, especially when it comes to manufacturing.
Even labor unions, which have fought back against free trade agreements, have doubts about the benefits of tariffs.
When asked about the impact on workers and President Trump's deportation plans, Van Orden said he was not concerned about domestic food production and, in fact, that the U.S. is here “legally.” He said he was confident that the number of people in the country could produce “enough food”.
“I'm not worried about not being able to produce enough food here in the United States. I simply don't,” Van Orden said. “The E-Verify system that we have is working at best, but we have to make sure that we have people who are here legally and lawfully to ensure that we can produce our food. I intend to.”
