Mexico to Slap Tariffs on 1,400+ Asian Goods

MEXICO CITY — The government of Claudia Sheinbaum will impose tariffs on more than 1,400 goods from various sectors, including the automotive and manufacturing industries, as part of the 2026 Economic Package. These tariffs are expected to be directed primarily at Asian products.

During a press conference on the 2026 Package, Carlos Lerma Cotera, Undersecretary of Revenue at the Ministry of Finance, stated that the primary objective is to reduce the trade imbalances that have emerged in recent years in certain sectors.

He maintained that the Ministry of Economy conducted a thorough sector-by-sector analysis of the impact the tariffs could have on value chains, while the Finance Ministry assisted in evaluating potential inflationary effects.

“The Ministry of Economy has reviewed and developed a strategy that also involves a tariff issue,” Lerma Cotera said.

“The proposal to be presented, pending more detailed comments from the Ministry of Economy, practically involves all the most sensitive sectors of our economy, from the automotive sector to manufacturing and particularly many sectors of the economy; more than 1,400 tariff fractions are being considered,” he revealed.

The official indicated that the initiative will be presented in the coming days.

“Here we are supporting and coordinating with the initiative that the Ministry of Economy will present, which basically has that objective: on one hand, to further incentivize national production, and on the other hand, to reduce the deficits that have increased substantially, particularly in some sectors over the last two years; in the last 12 months, the deficit has increased by more than 100 percent in some very specific sectors. So, it basically also seeks to address those imbalances that are currently occurring,” he stated.

“And it is also a relevant part for the Ministry of Finance because within the Budget and revenue projections, we are contemplating significant resources. For import revenues, we are contemplating around 70 billion additional pesos compared to the Budget and the advances of 2025, which basically derive from the tariff measures,” he added.

According to the General Criteria for Economic Policy, which form part of the Economic Package, the government projects that import revenues will increase by 73.7 billion pesos, or 40.7 percent, compared to the estimate for the current year, reaching 254.8 billion pesos.

“Total tax revenues in 2026 are expected to reach 5,838.6 million pesos and show real growth of 5.7 percent compared to the estimated close for 2025. The growth in revenues is mainly explained by an increase in the import component of 40.7 percent in real terms,” the document mentioned.

Tariff Measures Part of the Environment

While the Finance Ministry stated that these new tariffs respond to the objectives of the Mexico Plan, the head of the agency, Édgar Amador, acknowledged that these measures are part of the environment of trade discussions with North American partners.

“We do not ignore, of course, that this strategy and these measures regarding tariff policy are part of the discussion and the future trade conversations with our North American partners, and they will surely form part of the environment,” acknowledged the Finance Secretary.

“But the primary motivation is the strategy of the Mexico Plan: the strategy to strengthen domestic production and consumption,” he added.

He expressed that there is currently a modification of the parameters of trade policy worldwide, and one of the results has been economic introspection in terms of many countries seeking to strengthen their markets and domestic production in the coming years.

“Tariffs must be seen within the general logic and the overall strategy of the Mexico Plan. What is the objective of the Mexico Plan? To strengthen the national industry, reindustrialize sectors that have lost competitiveness due to not always fair, not always even competition from other economies, other countries, particularly those countries with which Mexico does not have trade treaties, meaning there are no clear rules, and in the absence of clear rules, we can fall into situations where our industry competes at a disadvantage,” he noted.

“So, within the Mexico Plan, this is one of the axes, again, not ignoring that it is a factor that is part of the current situation, the current discussion,” he accepted.

The tariffs will be directed at countries with which Mexico does not have trade treaties, within the framework of the parameters of the Most Favored Nation (MFN) principle of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“Indeed, they are those countries with which we do not have clear bilateral rules and, therefore, fall within the parameters of Most Favored Nation, the rules of the World Trade Organization. This was the framework within which we operated to calibrate the rates and tariffs,” explained Amador.

“What we took into consideration was, number one, countries with which we do not have a trade treaty, the WTO rules, the parameters set by Most Favored Nation, but we also carefully considered the productive impacts and potential effect on the price level.”

He affirmed that the impact on the National Consumer Price Index (INPC) will be a one-time event.

“We very carefully sought, together with colleagues from the Ministry of Economy and the Foreign Ministry, to calibrate those sectors for which, for example, we have no national substitutes, where there is low elasticity of substitution in terms of national production, those that could have very significant weightings in the National Consumer Price Index, so they don’t hit us,” he expressed.

“We do not see that (the measure) will have permanent effects and it does not exceed 2-3 tenths (of the increase in the INPC or inflation), depending on many factors. So it does not have a relevant impact, by design, because we took care of it. Those articles, those tariff fractions that could have a greater effect on the INPC, we took care of in terms of the factors. It was a job that has taken us quite some time to calibrate,” he added.

On Monday, while presenting the 2026 Package, the Finance Ministry stated that the objective of the tariffs is to create a fairer competitive environment.

“In order to create a fairer competitive environment, fiscal measures will be implemented in matters of foreign trade, such as the application of strategic tariffs to countries with which there are no existing agreements,” it highlighted in a statement.

The 2026 Package includes an initiative to reform various provisions of the Federal Tax Code, among which it is proposed to add a fraction to Article 105 of said code, to establish as a crime punishable with the same penalties as smuggling when an importer of goods falsely certifies their origin to obtain preferential tariff treatment.

“Being the importer of goods, falsely certifies their origin for the purpose of importing them into the country under preferential tariff treatment from a country with which Mexico has signed a treaty or international agreement,” stipulates the new fraction XVIII.