President Claudia Sheinbaum, who proposed the tariffs in September, is expected to enact the legislation in the coming days to take effect in January 2026.

Products affected

The new tariffs will impact a wide range of products, including:

• Automobiles and auto parts (20% of the automobiles sold in Mexico last month came from China)
• Textiles and apparel
• Steel and aluminum
• Plastics and chemicals
• Appliances and furniture
• Footwear

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Most products will face tariffs of up to 35%, while some specific sectors will see increases of up to 50%.

The Trump factor

Although Sheinbaum has denied that the tariffs are aimed at appeasing Washington, analysts agree that the real motivation is negotiations with the United States, Mexico’s most important trading partner.

The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Mexico of being a “back door” for Chinese products to enter the U.S. market under the terms of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (T-MEC). In response, Washington has imposed new tariffs on Mexican products made with Chinese components.

The move comes at a critical time: just before the scheduled review of the T-MEC next year, and while Mexico still faces 50% U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, plus threats of additional 25% levies related to fentanyl.

Impact on the Mexico-China relationship

China is the second largest exporter to Mexico after the United States. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded by stating that the tariff increases will substantially harm trade interests and urged Mexico to “correct its wrong practices of unilateralism and protectionism as soon as possible.”

Other affected countries

In addition to China, the tariffs will apply to dozens of countries without free trade agreements with Mexico, including South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and India. However, China will be by far the country most affected by the measure.

The implementation of these tariffs in January will be closely watched by other countries in the region facing similar pressures from the U.S. to reduce their trade dependence on China.