The increase in tariffs at a top level of imports of cars, auto parts, bicycles and motorcycles of China, South Korea, India and other nations without NAFTA is to protect investments, employment and production of different strategic industries in Mexico, explained Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Economy (SE).
“They were asking me. Yes we are going to apply tariffs to vehicles from Asia, in particular, China. And I told them yes, they already have a 20 percent tariff. Now we will take it (up to 50 percent), a level that allows us the World Trade Organization (WTO),” said the person in charge of attracting investments to Mexico.
Currently, the prices reached by Chinese cars to Mexico are below “what we call reference prices,” said the official.
When a Asia product arrives below the reference price, an anti -dumping investigation is done to determine that this product is arriving in these conditions, he said.
In the income and expenditure package made by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), the official recalled that for the first time they presented a package to increase tariff fractions to country imports without NAFTA.
“The President of the Republic, Claudia Sheinbaum wants to be delighted (the increase in tariffs on imports from the country without TMEC) in Congress and that it is a decision of the set and a broad agreement,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Economy, a 50 percent tariff will be imposed on auto parts, cars, dress, textile, glass, steel products and soaps, perfumes and cosmetics.
A 35 percent tariff will be for plastic, appliances, furniture, motorcycles, footwear and leather goods.
“That is why a tariff package was sent, as a program to protect the strategic industries of Mexico,” Ebrard said.
“The products already had a tariff, but it does not mean that they did not have it and now. What we are going to do is increase it to the top allowed by the World Trade Organization and there are variations of each tariff fraction,” said the official.
He added that the tariff proposed by the Ministry of Economy is for 1,463 fractions, which is equivalent to 8.6 percent of the total imports of Mexico.
“We are receiving light cars at low inventory prices, which is a strategy to gain market share,” said Ebrard.
According to the official, the Mexican automotive industry represents 23 percent of the national manufacturing, so “one of the ways to protect it is to increase the tariffs that pay those light cars that are so low today, below the reference price, we will say.”
The Mexican Autopartes Industry is one of the most important industries in the country, since “exports more than the automotive industry,” said the head of the Ministry of Economy.
Mexico is receiving and importing, auto parts with prices below the inventory, so “we have to take care of our steel industry,” he said.
Import tariffs from countries without NTA protect 320 thousand jobs created by industry in Mexico, he recalled.
“You see the experience of the textile and footwear industry, in recent years we lost 80 thousand jobs, because we had ridiculous prices,” said Marcelo Ebrard.
The importation of products with reference prices below are practices contrary to free and fair trade, so “we are imposing at 1,463 fractions,” he concluded.
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