The chinese cars They have “very low” prices even in China, stated the Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrarda few days before an initiative is discussed in Mexico that aims to increase tariffs on a wide variety of products, including automobiles originating from this Asian country.
A reporter asked Ebrard that new cars have been imported to Mexico from China as if they were used to obtain tax benefits, to which he responded:
“I have no news about that. Well, if you have any proof we will tell customs; but I don’t think so. No, what is happening is that their vehicles have very low prices, but not only here, but also in China.”
The official completed his reply in this way: “They have 26 companiess, I think, competing and in China even the government has already intervened for that. But hey, we will be attentive to see what Congress resolves.”
Ebrard made that reference because the president Claudia Sheinbaum In September it presented an initiative to increase tariffs on imports of 1,463 tariff items from countries with which Mexico does not have trade agreements, among which are cars originating in China.
In that same month, Ebrard declared: “They were asking me. Yes, we are going to apply tariffs to vehicles coming from Asia, in particular, China. And I told them that yes, they already have a 20 percent tariff. Now we are going to take it to a level (50%) that the World Trade Organization (WTO) allows us.”
Currently, the United States and Canada charge 100% tariffs on imports of electric cars originating from China; while the European Union applies a base tariff of 10% on imports of cars originating from all over the world, with variable “additional” tariffs depending on the manufacturer, such as BYD (about 17%), Geely (19-20%) and SAIC (up to 38 percent).
FDI attraction
On the other hand, and also at the end of the event Plan to boost the textile and footwear sector, held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Economy, in Mexico City, Ebrard anticipated that there was an increase in FDI arrivals to Mexico in the first three quarters of 2025.
“Tomorrow (Sheinbaum) invited us to the morning and we will report; but we have good news. There is a significant increase in foreign investment. Nobody expected it. And, above all, there is also a relevant increase in new investments. I mean that they are not only re-investments, but also new investments. Tomorrow we will give the details,” he said.
