The Mexico-China Chamber of Commerce and Technology believes that the measures announced by the Mexican government to protect the country’s strategic industries, through which it seeks to impose tariffs of up to 50%, will have negative consequences for the development and growth of key industrial sectors and for the supply chains that sustain the competitiveness of products sold in Mexico and around the world.
The organization, made up of Chinese companies with operations in Mexico and vice versa, noted that it proposes imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% applicable to products originating in Asia, classified in more than 1,400 tariff items , including glass, textiles, clothing, steel, aluminum, footwear, household appliances, hygiene products, auto parts, batteries, motorcycles, trailers, and automobiles.
“If it comes to consumer products, these very high increases of 35 to 50% in the import tax will have an unprecedented inflationary impact on products such as textiles, clothing, and footwear,” the agency emphasized in a statement.
He noted that the tax on imported cars would be 50% , with immediate effects on the final consumer price. This would affect access to these vehicles, “which are high-quality, irreplaceable, and greatly needed to advance the energy transition and reduce the emission of pollutants into the Earth’s atmosphere.”
He pointed out that Mexico has become a supplier of unprecedented scale and quality, so the supply chain would also be affected.
“The Mexican government’s proposal to increase tariffs on key segments such as parts and components for motorcycles, automobiles, batteries, engines, among others, constitutes a threat of harm or directly harms the development of the mobility sector, and electric mobility in particular,” he said.
In this regard, he called for a reconsideration of the proposed measures through a thorough and clear analysis of Mexico’s potential to replace these high-tech imports in the immediate future.
“Otherwise, we will be negating any possibility of absorbing, consolidating, and developing technology in the Mexican market for key sectors such as the metalworking industry, auto parts, household appliances, and other sectors that drive inflation control, thereby preserving the remunerative capacity of the minimum wage in Mexico,” he warned.
The Mexican Association of Automobile Dealers (AMDA) stated that the proposed increase will harm the economic and financial viability of a 60 billion peso (mdp) investment in the creation of 800 points of sale for cars imported from China in Mexico, the trade organization added.
In turn, the Electro Mobility Association (EMA) indicated that increasing the cost of electric vehicles will make more than 100 models of this type of vehicle and 50 plug-in hybrid models inaccessible.
In response, the Mexico-China Chamber of Commerce and Technology reiterated its willingness to engage in dialogue with all Mexican authorities to find solutions that address the goals of increased tax revenue.
Furthermore, among other points, he reaffirmed the principles of equity and reciprocity in bilateral trade between Mexico and China , and proposed a gradual and equitable approach that balances the effects on inflation, the creation of quality jobs, and the development and deepening of value chains with a greater degree of binational integration.
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