Customs charges were approved by Congress last December, at the end of a year 2025 marked by the trade war started by US President Donald Trump, who has threatened Mexico with tariffs since his return to the White House.
Analysts see the measure imposed by the Mexican government as an alignment with the United States, its largest trading partner, towards the review of the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC).
The tariffs are aimed at various products from the footwear, automotive, textile and toy sectorsamong others, industries with a significant presence of Chinese imports.
In 2024, Mexico imported 2,163 million dollars in footwear, of which 41.5% originated in China. The tariffs for this commercial chapter were set between 25% and 35% depending on the type of merchandise.
In the case of toys, a sector in which imports from Mexico amounted to 3,281 million dollars in 2024, the tax in force since 2026 is 30%.
61.5% of imports in the toy industry came from China in 2024, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).
The Ministry of Economy assured that the main objective of this measure is to “safeguard nearly 350,000 jobs” and “contribute to the reindustrialization” of the country.
Following the approval of the tariffs in Congress, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said that Beijing hopes that “Mexico will correct this erroneous practice of unilateralism and protectionism.”
In a statement released on December 30, the Mexican Ministry of Economy stated that the measure “is not directed at any country in particular.”
