Wednesday on the U.S. Senate floor, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on Mexico is really a “massive tax.”

Cornyn said, “The most responsible way to address it is by taking up debating and voting on bipartisan legislation that would actually fix the vulnerabilities in our current wall that are being exploited by the human smugglers that are charging between $5,000 and $10,000 per person to smuggle people from Central America, across Mexico, into the United States. Tariffs, on the other hand, would be a massive tax.”

He continued, “The U.S. Chamber estimates that Texas alone would face $5.35 billion in increased costs as result of a five-percent tariff that can take effect as early as Monday. This translates into about a thousand dollars more on a car. I’m happy that the President — Vice President and Secretary Pompeo are meeting with the Mexican foreign minister and other officials today. Actually, I’m encouraged by the response of the Mexican government, and I can only hope they come up with some sort of agreement, so these tariffs do not go into effect.”

(h/t Grabien)

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