He warned that the massive arrival of imported vehicles without local added value threatens an automotive chain that supports 1,300,000 jobs. Under this scenario, he stated that the tariff represents the central tool to avoid further deterioration and preserve the country’s productive structure.
Ebrard ruled out geopolitical motivations in the case of China. He pointed out that the tariff package covers only 8% of foreign trade and that its objective focuses on leveling the playing field for national producers who cannot compete against artificial prices. He compared the discounts applied by exporters with end-of-season auctions, where an actor with excessive inventories reduces prices to levels that no competitor can match.
Low impact on inflation
The secretary assured that the design of the package seeks to protect workers without generating significant pressures on prices. He estimated that the aggregate effect on inflation will be close to 0.2 percentage points and specified that the highest increases fall on finished products, not on industrial inputs. With this, it aims to limit indirect costs and avoid impacts on the supply chains that support Mexican manufacturing.
He reported that the collection provided for in the Income Law amounts to 70,000 million pesos, a figure that the government considers compatible with a moderate impact for producers and consumers. Ebrard highlighted that the package went through a technical review with 30 sectors, including business chambers from China, India, South Korea and Indonesia, a process that allowed tariff fractions to be adjusted without local substitutes.
“It’s like leveling the playing field, right? This is not against a country. We have a very good relationship with China, we are going to continue talking, but let’s see, China has sanitary restrictions on products, it is understood, or in some sectors it is understood, its policy, and I do not see it as a political difference,” said the official.
