Mexico Plans to Impose 50% Tariffs on China and Other Countries; Responses from Ministry of Commerce and Foreign Affairs

　　Late on the 11th, the Ministry of Commerce website published "Remarks by the Ministry of Commerce Spokesperson on Mexico's Plan to Raise Import Tariff Rates on Certain Trading Partners." It mentioned that, according to reports, Mexico plans to raise import tariff rates on approximately 1,400 product categories—including automobiles, toys, steel, textiles, and plastic products—to 10%–50% for countries that have not signed free trade agreements with Mexico, including China.

　　Meanwhile, some analysts believe that Mexico's tariff hike aligns with the long-standing U.S. attempt to contain China, could serve future trade negotiations between Mexico and its North American partners, and fits with the "Mexico Plan" strategy to strengthen domestic production and consumption.

　　In response, the Ministry of Commerce spokesperson stated that China will closely monitor Mexico's tariff hike动向 and carefully evaluate any final measures.

　　The Ministry of Commerce spokesperson emphasized that, at a time when the U.S. abuse of tariffs has sparked widespread global opposition, countries should enhance communication and coordination to jointly uphold free trade and multilateralism, and must not sacrifice the interests of third parties due to coercion by others. Against this backdrop, any unilateral tariff increase by Mexico, even within the framework of WTO rules, would be seen as an appeasement and compromise to unilateral bullying.

　　The Ministry of Commerce spokesperson also noted that once such measures are implemented, they would not only harm the interests of relevant trading partners, including China, but also severely impact the certainty of Mexico's business environment and undermine corporate confidence in investing in Mexico.