Mexico's new tariffs on Asian imports aim to counter US trade pressures
[September 11, 2025] MEXICO
CITY (AP) — Mexican import taxes on more than 1,400 products from China
and other Asian countries will be as high as 50%, 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% 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% 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% tariff, but Ebrard said
they would be raised to the maximum permitted by international
agreements.
China will be the most affected as Mexico imported $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.
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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 continues trying to negotiate its way out of those tariffs —
particularly that of 25% on the automotive sector and 50% 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.
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