Mexico is preparing to raise tariffs on Chinese imports of automobiles, textiles and plastics, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, under a proposal expected to be part of the 2026 budget to be submitted to the nation’s Congress next month.
If confirmed, the increase would mark one of Mexico’s sharpest trade shifts in recent years. Officials in Washington have urged the move as part of US President Donald Trump’s push to build a “Fortress North America” and reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains.
Trump has been a long-time critic of what he calls trade “loopholes” in the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement allowing Chinese goods to enter the US. During his election campaign last year, he railed against Chinese carmakers building plants in Mexico to export cars to the US.
“They’re building … numerous of the biggest auto plants in the world right now,” he said, “right near the border in Mexico, owned by China.”
“I told them, ‘If you do that, we’re going to put tariffs on at 200, 250 per cent. You’re never going to sell one car in this country,’” he said.
Mexico’s imports from China exceeded US$51 billion last year, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the country’s total purchases abroad.
