Following a proposal of President Claudia Sheinbaum, both houses of the Mexican Congress have voted to put tariffs on China and other countries, mostly China.
From Bloomberg: “Mexican lawmakers gave final approval for new tariffs on Asian imports, broadly aligning with US efforts to tighten trade barriers against China, as President Claudia Sheinbaum seeks to protect local industry.”
“Mexico’s Senate on Wednesday [December 10th] voted in favor of the bill that imposes tariffs of between 5% and 50% on more than 1,400 products from Asian nations that don’t have a trade deal with Mexico. The bill passed with 76 votes in favor, five against and 35 abstentions.”
“The new levies will take effect starting next year and hit a wide range of products from clothing to metals and auto parts, with the massive output of Chinese factories emerging as the legislation’s focus.”
So what does this have to do with Trump’s trade relations with Mexico ?
“Passage of the bill took place against the backdrop of Sheinbaum’s high-stakes trade talks with President Donald Trump and pressure to match his priorities, fueling hopes Mexico’s levies on Chinese goods could ease punishing US tariffs on goods like Mexican steel and aluminum.”
“While Sheinbaum has publicly denied any connection to Trump’s own tariff onslaught against the Asian giant, the new import levies resemble the US leader’s approach.”
According to the Economic Times, “Mexico’s Senate approved on Wednesday tariff hikes of up to 50% next year on imports from China and several other Asian countries, aiming to bolster local industry despite opposition from business groups and affected governments. The proposal, passed earlier by the lower house, will raise or impose new duties of up to 50% from 2026 on certain goods such as autos, auto parts, textiles, clothing, plastics and steel from countries without trade deals with Mexico, including China, India, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. The majority of products will see tariffs of up to 35%.”
And, “Analysts and the private sector argue the move is aimed at appeasing the U.S. ahead of the next review of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA), and say it is also intended to generate $3.76 billion in additional revenue next year as Mexico seeks to reduce its fiscal deficit.”
The Economic Times quoted Senator Mario Vazquez of the opposition PAN party, “On the one hand, it protects certain local productive sectors that are at a disadvantage with respect to Chinese products. It also protects jobs. But, on the other hand, (…) the tariff is an additional tax that citizens pay when they buy a product. And these are resources that go to the state. We would need to know what they are going to be used for. Hopefully, production chains in the country will be strengthened.”