Will China retaliate against Mexico's proposed tariffs on Asian imports?
Core argument: Mexico's proposed tariff hike on imports from countries without a trade agreement would affect roughly $52 billion of imports, including autos, steel, textiles, toys, home appliances and footwear, according to the Mexican government.
Earlier this week, Mexico announced a plan to hike tariffs on imports of key goods from countries with which it doesn’t have a trade agreement as part of efforts to bolster domestic production and substitute imports from Asia. If passed, the proposal would affect around $52 billion worth of imports, including autos, steel, textiles, toys, home appliances and footwear, according to the Mexican government. Beijing has warned Mexico to think twice before moving ahead with [the] plan to raise tariffs that could hurt Chinese automakers, saying it would retaliate against the measure. “At a time when the U.S.’s abuse of tariffs has sparked widespread global opposition, countries should strengthen communication and coordination to jointly safeguard free trade and multilateralism, and must not sacrifice the interests of third parties due to coercion,” a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said in a statement.


