Mexico slaps tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Chinese goods as US trade pact review looms
Beijing criticises the duties as damaging to its interests, as Mexico defends them as vital to support domestic producers
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday defended her government’s decision to impose new import tariffs, hours after the Senate approved legislation allowing duties of up to 50 per cent on more than 1,400 products from Asian countries.
The measure, widely seen as aimed at curbing Chinese imports, comes as Mexico prepares for a review of its trade agreement with the United States and Canada next year.
“We want Plan Mexico to be fulfilled without causing a problem for the national economy, and within that framework Congress approved these tariffs,” she told reporters at the National Palace.
“They are aimed at countries with which Mexico does not have a trade agreement. It is not about restricting trade between nations.”