Approved Tariffs in Mexico Aim to Protect 350,000 Jobs

The Mexican Government stated today that the new tariffs approved by Congress and set to take effect on January 1 aim to protect 350,000 jobs in the automotive, steel, textile, and footwear industries.

Speaking during President Claudia Sheinbaum's customary meeting with journalists, Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard presented statistics on the increase in imports in the latter three sectors between 2021 and 2024.

"If this continues, by the end of 2026, together with the automotive industry, we would be losing 350,000 jobs," stated the Secretary. He pointed to a trade imbalance with Asia, as Mexico buys ten times more from that region than it sells to it.

The official added that without implementing this package, jobs would have been lost, particularly in states such as Aguascalientes, Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Puebla, and Querétaro.

According to his detailed explanation, in drafting the tariff proposal, authorities selected 17 strategic industrial sectors, identified 1,463 tariff headings for final goods and inputs, and sought to avoid generating inflationary pressures.

"In the package sent to Congress, we have not made a decision by country. Mexico does not impose tariffs on a specific country. That is, the objective is not to charge more from a country that manufactures a certain product. The objective is to protect certain industrial sectors," he emphasized.

Ebrard further stated that the approved initiative does not seek to harm any specific nation or affect trade relations with Asia or another region, but rather to protect industry "in relation to abuses from those third countries with which Mexico does not have trade agreements."

For her part, Sheinbaum said her administration is in talks with said countries through the Economy Ministry, ambassadors, and the Foreign Ministry.

She also mentioned an estimated annual revenue of about 30 billion pesos (approximately 1.667 billion US dollars) from this package.

"Since we arrived in government, we proposed a plan for the country's development, primarily industrial—it's called the 'Plan Mexico'—not solely industrial, but that is a fundamental part," she recalled.

Among the purposes of the Plan Mexico, into which this package fits, are: increasing national content in production chains; substituting imports; reinforcing the "Made in Mexico" label; and raising national investment to up to 25% of GDP by 2026 and 28% by 2030.

It also aims to generate 1.5 million well-paid jobs in manufacturing and service sectors, and to ensure that 50% of the supply and national consumption in key sectors are produced domestically, also benefiting small and medium-sized enterprises.