Mexico threatens to impose a 50% tax on Chinese car imports
On Wednesday, September 10, the Mexican government announced plans to impose 50% tariffs on Chinese automobiles, citing the need to protect jobs in the country. Some observers believe this measure is nothing more than a charm offensive aimed at the United States, which is at odds with Beijing.
A new twist in the global trade war. While relations between Washington and Mexico remain tense, the Mexican government, under the leadership of President Claudia Sheinbaum , is considering lifting customs tariffs on Chinese car imports to 50%, instead of the current 20%, reports El Universal .
In this way, Mexico would increase these taxes "up to the maximum authorized by the World Trade Organization (WTO)" , stressed the Mexican Minister of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, quoted by the same newspaper.
As El País América reports , this measure would be part of a broader initiative to increase tariffs on more than 1,450 products across nineteen sectors, “ranging from automobiles to clothing, plastics, manufactured goods, aluminum, and glass.” This new tariff framework only affected countries that do not have a free trade agreement with Mexico, namely China, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Thailand, the Spanish-language newspaper reports.
To justify these customs duties “ranging between 10 and 50% [depending on the aforementioned sectors]”, which still need to be approved by the Mexican Congress, the government stressed that
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