Mexico’s Congress approves tariff hikes on imports from China and others
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Congress on Wednesday approved most of the government’s proposed tariff increases on more than 1,400 products imported from China and other countries that do not have a free trade agreement with Mexico.
The Senate passed the measure Wednesday evening, following the lower house, which approved the increases before dawn. President Claudia Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena party, which has said the tariffs are necessary to boost domestic production, controls both chambers. The Senate passed the bill with 76 votes in favor, five against and 35 abstentions.
The real motivation, analysts say, lies in ongoing negotiations with Washington, Mexico’s most important trading partner. Sheinbaum is seeking relief from remaining tariffs imposed on Mexican imports by the Trump administration, which has accused China of using Mexico as a back door to access the U.S. market.
Tariff increases of up to 50% will affect, among others, textiles, shoes, household appliances, cars and auto parts from January.
China will be hit the hardest, as Mexico imported $130 billion worth of products from the country in 2024, second only to what Mexico purchased from the United States. The Chinese government criticized the proposed tariff increases when they were announced in September.
“The real reason has to do with the United States, with the imminent revision of the USMCA (free trade agreement), with the negotiations to obtain reductions and exemptions from customs duties that Mexico is facing at the moment to access the American market,” said Oscar Ocampo, director of economic development at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness. Mexico still faces US tariffs on the auto sector, steel and aluminum.
But Ocampo said Mexico is pandering to an unpredictable U.S. President, Donald Trump, and changing its trade policy “in the wrong direction.” He said the government was creating problems in a number of sectors, including auto parts, plastics, chemicals and textiles, as tariffs would create disruptions in supply chains and could drive up inflation at a time when the economy is slowing.
