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The
Senate passed the measure Wednesday evening, following the lower
chamber, which had approved the increases before dawn. The
governing Morena party of President Claudia Sheinbaum, who said
the tariffs were necessary to spur domestic production, controls
both chambers. The Senate passed the legislation with 76 votes
in favor, five against and 35 abstentions.
Analysts say the real motivation is ongoing negotiations with
Washington, Mexico’s most important trading partner. Sheinbaum
has been trying to find relief from remaining tariffs imposed on
Mexican imports by the Trump administration, which has accused
China of using Mexico as a backdoor into the U.S. market.
Tariff increases of as much as 50% will affect textiles, shoes,
appliances, cars and auto parts among other things beginning in
January.
China will be the most affected as Mexico imported $130 billion
worth of products from the country in 2024, second only to the
what Mexico bought from the United States. The Chinese
government was critical of the proposed tariff increases when
they were announced in September.
“The real reason has to do with the United States, it has to do
with the review of the USMCA (free trade agreement) that is
coming up, with the negotiations to obtain reductions,
exemptions from the tariffs that Mexico is facing at this moment
to access the U.S. market,” said Oscar Ocampo, director of
economic development at the Mexican Institute for
Competitiveness. Mexico still faces U.S. tariffs on the
automotive sector, steel and aluminum.
But Ocampo said Mexico was bending to an unpredictable U.S.
President Donald Trump and changing its commercial policy “in
the wrong direction.” He said the government was creating
problems for a number of sectors, including auto parts,
plastics, chemicals and textiles, because the tariffs will
create disruptions in supply chains and could push inflation up
at a time when the economy is slowing.
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