INDIANAPOLIS -- One of the campaign pledges that's brought Donald Trump some of the biggest applause over the past few days centered on the jobs Carrier is moving out of Indianapolis.
Trump told a crowd that when he's president, those jobs would stay in Indiana – or Carrier would pay a 35 percent tax on imports to the U.S.
"I will call the head of Carrier and I will say, I hope you enjoy your new building," Trump said. "I hope you enjoy Mexico. Here's the story, folks: Every single air conditioning unit that you build and send across our border – you're going to pay a 35 percent tax on that unit."
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It's a promise that isn't impossible to fulfill – just highly unlikely.
IU McKinney School of Law Professor James Nehf says a President Trump could potentially put a tariff on all air conditioners made in Mexico, but not just on one company.
"They're almost always imposed on classes of goods," Nehf said. "You could impose tariffs on wine coming from the European Union, but you wouldn’t just impose a tariff on a specific wine producer."
Plus, Nehf points out, Trump would have to throw out a slew of treaties and trade deals to do it.
"Any tariffs imposed by our nation on imported goods from other countries with the rules of those treaties – if it's a tariff on Canadian or Mexican goods – it will have to comply with NAFTA as well as the World Trade Organization," Nehf said.
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