Topline
Billionaire Mark Cuban warned former President Donald Trump’s threats to impose a 200% tariff on John Deere if it moves production to Mexico could destroy the company, calling it “insanity” in a broad rebuke of Trump’s economic policies during a Kamala Harris campaign call Tuesday—the billionaire’s latest show of support for the vice president.
Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks looks on during the third quarter of the game against the Miami … [+]
Key Facts
If Trump were to move forward with the John Deere tariffs, which are steeper than the tariffs he’s proposed for Chinese imports, it would make it cheaper for Chinese manufacturers to compete with John Deere, Cuban said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters organized by the Harris campaign ahead of Trump’s economic speech in Savannah Tuesday.
Calling the move “ridiculously bad and destructive,” Cuban said it could lead to the potential “destruction of one of the most historied companies in the United States of America.”
Cuban was responding to Trump’s threat to John Deere Wednesday in Pennsylvania to put “a 200% tariff on everything that you want to sell into the United States” if the company moves forward with previously announced plans to lay off employees in the Midwest and increase production in Mexico.
Cuban also questioned whether the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement Trump signed in 2020, in which the U.S. agreed not to impose tariffs on Mexican products in exchange for enhanced measures from Mexico to tamp down on migration to the U.S.-Mexico border, might prevent him from moving forward with his latest proposal.
Crucial Quote
Explaining his support for Vice President Kamala Harris, Cuban said “she’s better for business” and “thinks through her policies” rather than saying “off the top of her head . . . what she thinks the crowd wants to hear like the Republican nominee.”
Chief Critic
Some experts have warned that Trump’s proposals to raise taxes on imported goods by 10% to up to 60% on goods from China would raise prices for consumers and hurt the U.S. economy by leading to a range of factors including decreased consumer spending.
Tangent
Cuban also attacked Trump’s proposed 10% cap on credit card interest rates in the Tuesday call, comparing it to Sen. Bernie Sanders’, I-Vt., proposal for a 15% cap. “So now you’ve got Donald Trump getting involved in price caps and price controls to a greater extent than self-described socialist Bernie Sanders,” Cuban said.
Key Background
Cuban has become a frequent Trump critic since Trump’s entrance into politics. He initially supported Trump’s first campaign for president, but ultimately ended up endorsing Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race. Cuban has derided Trump’s bombastic, off-the-cuff style and regularly accuses Trump of failing to adequately explain his proposals. Cuban was among more than 90 business leaders who endorsed Harris in September in an open letter, citing her “strong record of advancing actions to spur business investment in the United States and ensure American businesses can compete and win in the global market.”
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Cuban’s net worth at $5.7 billion, while Trump is worth about $3.6 billion.
Further Reading
Harris Vs. Trump On The Economy: Trump Now Holds Just Slim Lead On Issue In Latest Poll (Forbes)
How The Economy Really Fared Under Biden/Harris And Trump—From Jobs To Inflation (Forbes)
Will Trump’s Tariffs Raise Prices? What To Know As Kamala Harris Slams Policy At Debate (Forbes)
