Mexico not looking for conflict over tariff measures, president says

MEXICO CITY: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday said her government was not looking for a conflict with countries on which it plans to increase tariffs, including China.

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Mexico raised tariffs on Chinese vehicles up to 50% to support domestic production and protect local jobs.
The move affects US$52 billion in imports and sparked concerns it was meant to please the US, which Mexico denies.
China criticised the tariffs while Mexico's auto industry welcomed them as a step toward fair market conditions.

"We don't want a conflict," Sheinbaum told a morning press conference, adding the measures were intended to boost Mexico's economy and that her government was in talks with ambassadors from countries impacted by the proposed measures.

Her government on Wednesday announced it was raising tariffs on Chinese autos to a maximum level of 50% as part of a broad overhaul of import levies across hundreds of goods, impacting some US$52 billion of imports.

The measures against countries with which Mexico does not hold trade deals sparked comments that Mexico had announced these measures in order to appease its top trade partner, the United States.

"That is not the objective," Sheinbaum said when asked about this during the press conference, saying the measures were intended to strengthen local production capacity as part of an industrial strategy proposed before U.S. President Donald Trump was elected last year.

"What we want to is to be able to discuss things without the need to generate any conflict," she added.

Following the measures, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said he hoped the two nations could work together. China opposed restrictions imposed under "various pretexts" and would safeguard its interests, he added.

Mexico's automotive industry association AMIA, meanwhile, welcomed the plan to increase tariffs.

"As an industry, we believe that the measure ensures that any company participating in the Mexican market does so under fair conditions," it said in a statement, saying it believed the plan would boost jobs and consumer guarantees.

Mexico is a major manufacturer of cars that it exports largely to the United States, but it also imports hundreds of thousands of vehicles each year.

China exported more than 177,000 automobiles and light trucks to Mexico in the first eight months of this year, according to data from Mexico's national statistics office INEGI, making it by far the largest supplier. U.S. manufacturer General Motors was, however, the largest exporter from China to Mexico.

The Chevrolet Aveo was overwhelmingly GM's most shipped vehicle in the first part of this year, the data showed, though a range of pickup trucks, vans and SUVs were also popular.

Mexico's economy minister said when announcing the tariff measures that Chinese cars were entering the local market "below what we call reference prices" and that the protectionist measures aimed to make Mexican products more competitive.