Mexico, Canada tariffs take effect | A look at potential impacts [Video]

“They can’t come in and steal our money and steal our jobs and take our factories and take our businesses and expect not to be punished,” Trump said in a news conference. “They are being punished by tariffs. It’s a very powerful weapon.”

However, economists said those costs will likely be passed on to consumers — not the country the products are coming from. 

“The taxes are collected from whoever is transporting those avocados across the country line,” said Tom Smith, an economist and finance professor at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. “As soon as they cross the border, those avocados are going to be taxed. The importer/exporter has to pay that tax, then Publix has to pay that importer/exporter and you have to pay back Publix.”

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