China Urges Mexico to Drop 'Protectionist Practices' in Tariff Spat

China's Commerce Ministry urged Mexico to rectify "unilateral, protectionist practices" as soon as possible, saying that tariffs announced by the Latin American country harm Chinese interests.

Although the duties in the tariff bill Mexico passed on Wednesday have been scaled back from the initial announcement, they are still harmful to China's national interests, the ministry said on its website on Thursday.

China will continue its investigation into Mexico's trade and investment barriers, a probe launched in September after the Mexican government announced plans to raise tariffs on imports of key goods from countries with which it doesn't have a trade agreement.

The initial proposal, aimed at bolstering local industries and substituting imports from Asia, affected about $52 billion of imports, Mexico's Economy Ministry said at the time.

"These products already had a tariff...what we're going to do is increase it to the cap that we're permitted by the World Trade Organization," Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard had said.

Chinese investments have poured into Mexico over the past years, ballooning bilateral trade. But a flood of Chinese exports also threatens Mexico's efforts to pivot to high-end manufacturing, and there is growing pressure from the Trump administration to take a tougher stance over trade.

Beijing had previously warned Mexico to think twice before moving ahead with the tariff hikes, saying it would retaliate.

On Thursday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that the tariff hikes may well serve the coming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but that no pact should come at the expense of global trade, or harm China's legitimate interests.

Earlier this week, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the USMCA could take a new form after its renegotiation next year.

The Chinese ministry in Thursday's statement said Beijing values its ties with Mexico and hopes the country will work with China to resolve their differences and deepen cooperation.

"We hope Mexico will take these concerns seriously and proceed with caution," it added.

Mexican officials couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Mexico has trade agreements with more than 50 countries, including Japan. Among countries without a trade agreement with Mexico, China stands out as one of the largest exporters. Others include South Korea and India.

Write to Singapore Editors at singaporeeditors@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 11, 2025 01:30 ET (06:30 GMT)