Mexico's new tariffs on cars and parts from non-FTA countries – Automotive Logistics

January 13, 2026 admin

Tariffs and trade in Mexico
In December 2025, the Mexican Senate approved a package of new tariffs affecting the import of certain goods to Mexico from countries with which Mexico does not have an FTA, including including China, Brazil, South Korea, India and Russia. These new tariffs came into effect from January 1, 2026.
US tariffs have forced firms to reimagine their supply chains in Mexico, with nearshoring and freight consolidation key trends ahead of the USMCA review.
“The proposed tariffs are part of a programme to protect Mexico’s strategic industries… they’re aimed at products that we bring from countries with which we do not have free trade agreements… because when you have a free trade agreement you cannot impose such a tariff,” said Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s secretary of economy, in a translation of an official statement.
Ebrard went on to explain why passenger cars were specifically targeted in these measures. “One of the products that will be taxed are light automobiles, because they enter the country at prices below the reference price seeking to gain market share… The purpose of this is to ensure that we have production [in Mexico],” he said.
As visible in Figure 1, the highest tariff rates in this new wave of measures are applied to passenger cars, with duties of up to 50%. These rates apply to finished ICE, hybrid and electric vehicles from countries without an FTA with Mexico. Tariff rates ranging between 15% and 35% apply to a range of auto parts, while raw materials including metals used in vehicle production are subject to tariffs of around 35%.
The 50% rate applied to cars imported from non-FTA countries represents the maximum tariff level Mexico can impose under World Trade Organization (WTO) legislation, having set a legally-binding 50% ceiling – or bound tariff – for passenger cars.
Figure 2 shows countries without an existing FTA with Mexico, which – from January 1, 2026 – are vulnerable to these higher tariff rates. Notable countries include China, Brazil, South Korea, India and Taiwan. Below, Automotive Logistics breaks down why each of these countries is significant to Mexico’s automotive sector.
New vehicle exports from China have hit 4.95m units within the first nine months of 2025, up 14.8% since last year. Of this, almost a tenth (410,739 units) were exported to Mexico, the country’s biggest export destination.
Of all those countries affected by these new tariffs, the most significant without a doubt is China. In 2024, 13.9% of imported vehicle body parts and accessories to Mexico came from China, representing a total value of $899m. Behind the US, China was Mexico’s second-biggest trading partner in 2024, in terms of both imports and exports of auto parts.
Additionally, Mexico’s vehicle imports from China in 2024 totalled $13.54 billion in value, making China also the second-highest value commercial origin of vehicles in Mexico that year.
More recently, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), shared by the Association of European Vehicle Logistics (ECG), showed that as of September 2025, Mexico represents China’s biggest export market, with 10% of total exports going to Mexico.
On December 22, 2025 – after the approval of the new measures by the Mexican Senate was announced – a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) stated: “China has consistently opposed unilateral tariff hikes in any form. It is hoped that Mexico will promptly rectify this erroneous approach rooted in unilateralism and protectionism.”
Automakers in Asia and logistics firms around the world are grappling with uncertainty as they begin to prepare for the impact of an increase in Mexico’s tariff on Chinese vehicle imports from 20% to 50%.
The spokesperson noted that the measures approved are based on a proposal from September 2025, and that while the approved version “includes certain adjustments, such as moderate reductions in the proposed tariff increases for some automotive parts”, the newly implemented measures are likely to “cause material injury to the interests of relevant trading partners, including China”.
Responding to reports that this latest tariff increase from Mexico is intended to serve the upcoming review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the MOFCOM spokesperson commented: “China welcomes the resolution of economic and trade differences between related countries through economic trade agreements, but any such arrangement must not come at the expense of global trade development or infringe upon China’s legitimate interests.”
Renault has opened a new international logistics network (ILN) centre in Mexico, as the company strengthens its supply chain operations in South America.
According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, Mexico imported $11.69 billion worth of vehicle products from Brazil in 2024. Data from the Mexican government also shows that Brazil was Mexico’s biggest partner in South America for the import ($13.5m) and export ($64m) of vehicle body parts and accessories.
Although Mexico and Brazil do not currently have an FTA, trade negotiations between the two countries have been ongoing since September 2024.
As the Brazilian government is yet to publicly comment on Mexico’s latest tariff package, it remains to be seen how this might impact trade negotiations between the two countries and what it might mean for the future of Mexico’s position as a key trade hub between North and South America.
It is worth noting, however, that Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will likely face less of an impact as a result of this tariff hike because of the Automotive‑Chain Economic Complementation Agreement (ACE55). This agreement, which entered into force in January 2003, was intended to promote automotive industry integration throughout the Mercosur trade bloc.
So while other goods may be subject to higher tariff rates, ACE55 should allow signatories to export automotive-related goods into Mexico with lower duties or no duties at all, shielding them from the brunt of the economic impact of these measures.
At ALSC Mexico, GM’s Mónica García discussed how end-to-end visibility can improve resiliency in Mexico, working with suppliers and logistics partners on supply chain mapping.
In addition to China, several other Asian markets that play a significant role in Mexico’s automotive supply chain will be affected by these tariff increases., having not agreed FTAs with Mexico to date. One of these markets is South Korea, from which Mexico imported 6.31% of all vehicle body parts and accessories in 2024, totalling a value of $406m.
Other valuable markets in Asia without an FTA include India, from which Mexico imported $26m worth of vehicle body parts and accessories in 2024, and semiconductor powerhouse Taiwan, from which it imported $50.9m worth of parts and accessories.
Throughout 2025, fluctuations in tariffs and trade policy in North America meant OEMs needed to be flexible and agile, responding appropriately to any changes in order to minimise disruption. At the Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain Mexico conference last year, OEMs highlighted how they are having to come to terms with what revisions to vehicle tariffs mean for their business, not just for deliveries of vehicles made in Mexico to the US but for vehicles being delivered to Mexico from countries with which it does not have free trade agreements.
At ALSC Mexico 2025, logistics and supply chain experts from GM, Nissan, VW, Chirey and Great Wall Motor outlined their strategies for tackling capacity constraints and volume fluctuations in vehicle import-export
“That been very challenging – first to understand the implications and therefore to try to plan strategy according to that,” said Bernardo Taboada Cortina, head of logistics planning at VW de México at the event.
He noted that it is a fluid situation and claimed that VW de México has to decide from one week to the next whether to send vehicles or stop deliveries.
And just as tariff fluctuations can impact OEMs, so too can they affect their logistics partners. Also at ALSC Mexico 2025, Sergio Gutierrez, COO at Glovis America, discussed how Mexico’s new market for Chinese vehicles has to be balanced with the established imported brands that Glovis is handling for sale in Mexico as well as the volumes it is helping export.
“At the end of the day we need to be very nimble and flexible,” said Gutierrez. “Every niche deserves the service and the quality.”