President Donald Trump has minced no words, repeatedly assuring American taxpayers they will never pay for a wall along the southern border. Mexico will pay.

To keep that promise, Trump should immediately renounce the plan he floated Thursday to impose a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico.

It doesn’t take Econ 101 to know who pays a tariff imposed on foreign imports. The tax passes directly to consumers. Impose a 20 percent tariff on goods from Mexico, to pay for a wall, and Americans are paying for it with a 20 percent increase in the costs of products and commodities they depend on.

Taxing Mexican imports is no small hit. Mexico is our third-largest trading partner, importing nearly $300 billion in goods each year. We buy about $60 billion more from Mexico than Mexicans buy from us. And no, we cannot avoid the tax by shunning avocados.

Read more at The Colorado Springs Gazette.