Business & Economics
Mexico Authorises 5–50% MFN Tariffs on 1,463 Import Lines, Triggering Indian & Chinese Push-Back
On 11 Dec 2025 Mexico finalised a law that will, from 1 Jan 2026, slap steep duties on goods from countries lacking an FTA with Mexico, immediately drawing threats of retaliatory action from New Delhi and a protest from Beijing.
Focusing Facts
- Package passed Mexico’s Senate 11 Dec 2025 and covers 1,463 tariff headings, with ceilings raised to 50 %.
- Tariffs target non-FTA suppliers—India, China, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia—beginning 1 Jan 2026.
- India’s exports to Mexico totalled US $5.75 billion in FY 2024-25, roughly one-third in passenger vehicles.
Context
Protectionist bursts seldom occur in a vacuum. Mexico’s move recalls the 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariff, which also hiked hundreds of lines to shield domestic industry during U.S.-Canada negotiations and triggered counter-retaliation. More recently, Washington’s 2018 Section 232 metal tariffs set the precedent for unilateral hikes justified as ‘resilience’. Mexico, embedded in the USMCA supply chain, now faces U.S. pressure to police Chinese trans-shipment; its new MFN wall signals the broader decoupling trend and the re-regionalisation of trade last dominant in the pre-GATT era. If replicated elsewhere, such measures could erode the rules-based tariff ceilings painstakingly bound since the 1947 GATT rounds, reshaping global trade architecture for decades—much as the inter-war protectionist spiral rewired commerce for half a century. On a 100-year horizon, the episode is a data-point in the pendulum swing between liberalisation (1990s-2010s) and controlled blocs (2020s-?).
Perspectives
Indian national media outlets
e.g., Zee News, The Indian Express — Frame Mexico’s tariff hike as a unilateral move that threatens India’s exporters and warrants possible retaliatory or diplomatic counter-measures from New Delhi. Coverage stresses Indian economic risks and government toughness, which can amplify nationalism and overlook Mexico’s domestic rationale.
Chinese government perspective echoed in coverage
commerce ministry statements quoted — Condemns Mexico’s new duties as protectionist, warning they will severely undermine the interests of trade partners such as China. Portrays China as a principled defender of free trade while downplaying its own frequent use of tariffs and trade restrictions.
Sources relaying Mexico’s protectionist justification
business/analyst reports cited in News18, OpIndia — Present the tariff package as an effort to boost Mexican manufacturing, correct trade imbalances and align with U.S. pressure on Chinese trans-shipments. Focuses on economic sovereignty and USMCA alignment, potentially minimizing the disruption and retaliatory risks for affected partners.