Sheinbaum proposes tariffs targeting 1,371 product categories including vehicles, apparel and electronics

Mexico is readying to enforce caller tariffs connected imports from countries with which it doesn’t person a escaped commercialized agreement, a determination that appears chiefly aimed astatine China.

President Claudia Sheinbaum is seeking legislature support to instrumentality tariffs of up to 50% connected goods from specified countries, sending an inaugural to the Chamber of Deputies connected Tuesday that aims to modify the Law connected General Import and Export Taxes.

Sheinbaum had antecedently indicated that her authorities was looking astatine imposing caller tariffs connected imports from countries with which Mexico doesn’t person commercialized agreements. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)

The inaugural — related to Mexico’s 2026 fund connection — proposes tariffs of betwixt 10% and 50% connected a wide scope of goods, including ones made successful the automotive, textile, plastic, steel, clothing, toy, footwear, furniture, insubstantial and solid sectors.

The legislative connection is accordant with the Mexican government’s purpose to trim reliance connected imports and support Mexican industry. Those goals are acceptable retired successful the ambitious Plan México concern policy, which was unveiled successful January.

Approval of the betterment inaugural appears inevitable, considering that the ruling Morena enactment and its allies predominate some houses of Congress.

Sheinbaum had indicated that her authorities was looking astatine imposing caller tariffs connected imports from countries with which Mexico doesn’t person commercialized agreements. The Bloomberg quality bureau reported precocious past period that the Mexican authorities intended to summation tariffs connected Chinese imports.

Mexico’s outlay connected Chinese goods has accrued successful caller years, and the country’s commercialized shortage with the East Asian economical powerhouse hit a caller grounds precocious successful the archetypal six months of 2025.

Mexico’s increasing commercialized narration with China, and Chinese concern successful Mexico, are seen arsenic a imaginable stumbling artifact for the Mexican authorities successful the 2026 reappraisal of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the North American escaped commercialized pact that superseded NAFTA successful 2020.

Good quality for Trump: Mexico is readying to rise tariffs connected Chinese imports

Imposing higher tariffs connected imports from China volition apt spell immoderate mode to appeasing the governments of the U.S. and Canada, some of which person critically questioned Mexico’s economical ties with the world’s second-largest economy.

United States President Donald Trump has adjacent accused Mexico of being a transshipment hub for Chinese goods — i.e. a tariff-free oregon low-tariff backdoor to the United States market. The Mexican authorities denies the allegation.

Reform measure seeks to enactment Mexican manufacture and jobs, and ‘balance’ overseas trade

Sheinbaum’s betterment measure states that its purpose is to “take vantage of our interior marketplace truthful that accumulation takes spot successful Mexico and employs Mexican workers.”

At the aforesaid time, the legislative connection seeks to lend to the “balancing” of overseas commercialized for the “well-being” of “all Mexicans.”

“For years,” the betterment measure states, “the nationalist system became integrated into planetary worth chains, nether frameworks that favored the importation of inputs, which led to the nonaccomplishment of indispensable productive sectors and a increasing vulnerability to outer shocks.”

“Trade liberalization, portion expanding markets, did not ever construe into greater technological capableness oregon an summation successful nationalist contented successful our exports. With this proposal, inspired by Plan Mexico, this inclination volition beryllium corrected, and nationalist manufacture volition beryllium strengthened fixed the planetary commercialized discourse and planetary reconfiguration,” it says.

The betterment measure sets a extremity of having “at slightest 50% of strategical supplies” being made successful Mexico.

It besides states that “tariffs are nary longer seen solely arsenic a means of raising revenue, but go a strategical instrumentality for economical and commercialized policy.”

In summation to seeking accrued overseas investment, 1 of Sheinbaum’s goals with Plan México is to summation nationalist contented successful manufactured exports. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartocuro)

Another purpose of the tariff program is to pull caller concern to Mexico, conscionable similar Trump is seeking to lure overseas companies to the U.S. with his protectionist agenda.

“Due to existing planetary policies, … it is indispensable to instrumentality factual actions that alteration a balanced marketplace enactment successful bid to debar economical distortions that could impact the relocation [to Mexico] of the productive sectors considered strategical for the country,” the measure says.

The legislative connection states that imports from countries with which Mexico has a escaped commercialized statement volition not beryllium taxable to the caller projected tariffs. Existing agreements — Mexico has pacts with astir 50 countries — volition proceed to govern that trade.

What products volition beryllium taxable to the caller tariffs?

The caller tariffs are slated to use to goods imported nether 1,371 tariff codes, a fig equivalent to 16.8% of each of Mexico’s tariff codes.

The betterment measure proposes the implementation of duties astatine rates of 10%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35% and 50%. The tariffs would initially beryllium imposed connected Dec. 31, 2026, but their exertion could beryllium extended.

Among the goods that volition beryllium taxable to higher tariffs if Sheinbaum’s inaugural is approved are:

• Steel rods and pipes, and rolled steel.
• Some car accumulation inputs.
• Aluminum products.
• Footwear.
• Cardboard boxes.
• Fabrics and bedding.
• Bathroom fixtures specified arsenic sinks and toilet parts.
• Shampoo and different idiosyncratic hygiene products.
• Water pumps.
• Fans.

Mexico already collects tariffs connected hundreds of goods from China and different countries with which it doesn’t person commercialized agreements, including Chinese vehicles, which person go precise fashionable among Mexican motorists.

Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Tuesday that the imposition of tariffs connected Chinese products is “a measurement to effort to reduce” Mexico’s commercialized shortage with China, which exceeded US $57 cardinal successful the archetypal six months of 2025.

“Light vehicles, plastics, physics parts,” helium said, listing immoderate of the imports acceptable to look higher tariffs.

“… Every clip [the shortage with China] goes up, we’ll person less companies successful Mexico,” Ebrard told reporters astatine a concern lawsuit successful Monterrey.

“We person to effort to support our companies with a tenable strategy, due to the fact that you can’t enactment tariffs connected everything either,” helium said.

New tariffs to make gross of 70 cardinal pesos annually, authoritative says 

Deputy Finance Minister Carlos Lerma told a property league connected Tuesday that the caller tariffs would make an further 70 cardinal pesos (US $3.76 billion) successful gross for the government.

He stressed that the tariffs volition beryllium imposed “within the model of the planetary [trade] treaties” Mexico has with dozens of nations astir the world.

Deputy Finance Minister Carlos Lerma told a property league connected Tuesday that the caller tariffs volition not regenerate those established by Mexico’s existing commercialized agreements with overseas nations. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)

Finance Minister Edgar Amador said that the tariffs would beryllium imposed successful accordance with World Trade Organization guidelines. He besides said that the authorities would beryllium delicate to immoderate impacts the tariffs mightiness person connected accumulation and prices successful Mexico.

Gabriela Siller, manager of economical investigation astatine Banco Base, said connected X connected Wednesday that the imposition of tariffs could person a “positive” interaction connected authorities income and “could assistance to support a favorable narration with the medication of Donald Trump,” which has been pressuring Mexico to summation tariffs connected imports from China.

However, Siller asserted that the duties volition “generate inflationary pressures successful Mexico” due to the fact that “19.96% of Mexico’s imports travel from China.”

“With respect to imports directed to the last consumer, rider vehicles are of interest due to the fact that 18.1% of income successful Mexico are of Chinese origin,” she wrote.

In a abstracted station connected Wednesday, Siller said that 29% of Mexico’s car imports volition beryllium “affected by the 50% tariff announced yesterday.”

Amador didn’t azygous retired China arsenic a people of Mexico’s projected tariffs, but acknowledged that their implementation would hap “within the treatment and aboriginal commercialized conversations with our North American partners” up of the reappraisal of the USMCA adjacent year.

However, helium stressed that the “main motivation” for the tariffs is “the Plan México strategy, the extremity of strengthening production” successful Mexico.

A spokesperson for the Chinese government, Guo Jiakun, spoke retired against immoderate determination to enactment further tariffs connected China’s exports to Mexico successful August, the Associated Press reported.

“Mexico is China’s second-largest trading spouse successful Latin America, and China is Mexico’s third-largest export destination,” helium said.

“China firmly opposes restrictions imposed connected China nether assorted pretexts and nether coercion from others, which harm China’s morganatic rights and interests,” said the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

With reports from Milenio, Reforma, La Jornada, Animal Político, Aristegui Noticias, El Universal, AP and Reuters