'We're in trouble': Robert Reich explains why Trump's plan to tax Mexico imports would be a disaster

On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced his plan to pay for the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, after Mexican President Peña Nieto insisted they would not be paying for the wall. The Trump team is now considering a 20 percent tax on Mexican imports to pay for the wall.

Former United States Secretary of Labor Robert Reich joined MSNBC on Thursday to break down how such a plan could be disastrous for the economy. "A lot of American companies would be penalized," he said. "American companies have — they send some of their components to Mexico and then they assemble them in Mexico, and then they send them back to the United States. So American companies are going to hate that."

"American workers are also consumers," he explained. "And American consumers are going to be paying much more for a lot of goods and even some services that come from Mexico."

Reich added that it could start a trade war with other countries, in which case, "We're in trouble."