Mexico’s new tariffs on Asian imports aim to counter U.S. trade pressures

A Mexican flag hangs at the National Palace, where a portrait of former Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador hangs, as President Claudia Sheinbaum delivers her first state-of-the-nation address in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

MEXICO CITY — Mexican import taxes on more than 1,400 products from China and other Asian countries will be as high as 50 per cent, as the country tries to shore up domestic production and pass on some of the Trump administration’s tariff pain.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said the tariffs revealed a day earlier in her administration’s budget proposal are intended to counter the effects of U.S. tariffs on some products from Mexico, particularly in the automotive sector, which accounts for 23 per cent of Mexico’s manufacturing.

Among the products that will face the import taxes are light vehicles, auto parts, textiles, shoes, plastics, electronics, toys and other items.

The budget is expected to pass easily through Mexico’s Congress, where the governing party holds majorities in both chambers.

Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Wednesday that the tariffs would be applied to 8.6 per cent of what Mexico buys abroad and apply only to countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico.

The listed products already have an average 16 per cent tariff, but Ebrard said they would be raised to the maximum permitted by international agreements.

China will be the most affected as Mexico imported US$130 billion worth of products from the country in 2024, second only to the what Mexico bought from the United States. Other top countries hit will be South Korea, Thailand, India, Philippines and Indonesia.

Mexico has been under pressure from the Trump administration to limit Chinese imports, some of which the U.S. has alleged use Mexico as a backdoor to the U.S. market.

“What Mexico is looking for right now are reductions or exemptions to the tariffs they’re paying (to the U.S.),” said Oscar Ocampo, a researcher at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness.

Mexico continues trying to negotiate its way out of those tariffs — particularly that of 25 per cent on the automotive sector and 50 per cent on steel and aluminum — even as it prepares along with Canada and the United States for a revision of their free trade agreement.

Mexico’s new tariffs on its Asian trade partners could strengthen its hand in talks with Washington, Ocampo said. “Will it be enough or not? It’s impossible to know,” he said.

Sheinbaum, who met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week in Mexico City, says the tariffs are not the result of U.S. pressure, but rather are aimed at spurring domestic production.

Her administration argues that the products targeted, like Chinese cars, are sold below market prices.

Last month, Guo Jiakun, spokesman for the Chinese government, criticized the rumored Mexican tariffs.

“China firmly opposes restrictions imposed on China under various pretexts and under coercion from others, which harm China’s legitimate rights and interests,” he said.

Ocampo said that unlike the U.S. tariffs, Mexico is saying clearly that it is following international trade guidelines.

The Associated Press