In series of tweets, president-elect warns of a 35% tax on products sold inside US by companies that shift work overseas

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday threatened heavy taxes as retribution for US companies that move their business operations overseas and still try to sell their product to Americans.

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In a series of tweets early on Sunday – which followed a much-discussed tweet criticising Saturday Night Live after a sketch that said the president-elect tweeted too much – Trump promised a 35% tax on products sold inside the US by any business that fired American workers and built a new factory or plant in another country.

Since his election victory, Trump has used Twitter to make statements on policy, often in an apparent attempt to change the subject of media conversation.

On Friday, he used the social media site to answer criticism of a phone conversation with the president of Taiwan that broke with nearly 40 years of diplomatic protocol and prompted an official complaint from China.

The businessman campaigned on a vow to help American workers but also to reduce taxes and regulations on businesses.

On Sunday morning he returned to such well-trodden themes, using Twitter to say: “There will be a tax on our soon to be strong border of 35% for these companies wanting to sell their product, cars, AC units, etc, back across the border.”

This week, his transition team heralded a deal with Carrier, a manufacturer of air-conditioning units which planned to close an Indiana plant and move jobs and manufacturing to Mexico.

Trump claimed credit for the deal in which Indiana state officials agreed to give United Technologies $7m worth of tax breaks to encourage the company to keep around 1,000 jobs at its Carrier unit in Indianapolis.

Critics pointed out that Carrier would still send an estimated 1,300 jobs south of the border.

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On Saturday, Senator Bernie Sanders said Trump’s deal with Carrier set a “very dangerous precedent” of having taxpayers subsidize multibillion dollar corporations to “beg them” to keep jobs in the country.

He also challenged Trump over a subsequent tweet that expressed anger at plans by another company, Rexnord, to shift jobs away from Indiana and outside the US.



“Rexnord of Indiana is moving to Mexico and rather viciously firing all of its 300 workers,” Trump said in that tweet. “This is happening all over our country. No more!”

In answer, Sanders tweeted: “What are you going to do, @realDonaldTrump? Stand up for working people or give the company a massive tax break?”

On Sunday, Trump said companies should be “forewarned prior to making a very expensive mistake”.