News / Mexico bids to boost home industries by steep tariff hikes on Asian imports

© Sergei Babenko

Mexico’s Congress last week approved sweeping tariff increases on imports from several Asian countries, paving the way for duties of up to 50% on selected goods from China, India, and others from 1 January.

Lawmakers in both political chambers backed the measure, giving final approval to a government proposal to amend Mexico’s tariff law covering more than 1,300 product categories.

The changes target imports from countries that do not have free-trade agreements with Mexico, including China, India, South Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Under the approved legislation, tariffs on certain manufactured goods will rise to between 35% and 50%, the steepest increases for products seen as directly competing with domestic Mexican industries – textiles and apparel, footwear, steel and metal products, plastics, chemicals, machinery, and some automotive components.

The measure is part of a broader effort to protect local manufacturers and encourage companies to relocate production to Mexico, or source from countries covered by trade agreements, particularly the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Government officials have argued that low-price imports from Asia, especially China, have undercut Mexican producers and distorted domestic markets. By raising tariffs, authorities aim to strengthen local supply chains, boost industrial output and reinforce Mexico’s role as a nearshoring hub for North American manufacturing.

While the policy is expected to benefit Mexican manufacturers and companies already producing within the country, it is likely to raise costs for importers and could push up prices for some consumer and industrial goods in the short term. Asian exporters without production bases in Mexico are expected to be among the hardest hit.

The tariff changes will be formalised through publication in Mexico’s official gazette, the Diario Oficial de la Federación, which gives them legal force. Once in effect, the new duties will mark one of Mexico’s most significant shifts toward trade protection in recent years, reshaping import flows and reinforcing its strategic alignment with North American supply chains.

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