On August 15, 2023, the President of Mexico issued a decree amending the tariff table of the General Import and Export Tariff Act. 

The focus of this law is to impose a temporary import tax of 5% to 25% on goods in 392 tariff items.

These tariff items include steel, aluminum, bamboo products, rubber, chemical products, oil, soap, paper, cardboard, ceramic products, glass, electrical equipment, musical instruments, and furniture.

This law will apply to the increase in import tariffs for 392 tariff items. Almost all products in these tariff items are now subject to a 25% import tariff, and only certain textiles will be subject to a 15% tariff. The modification of this import tariff rate took effect on August 16, 2023 and will end on July 31, 2025.

In addition, the decree abolished the tariff reductions stipulated in the decree published in the Federal Register on November 18, 2022, stating that the textile and footwear industries are facing a fragile situation.

In order to prevent the impact on the productive supply chain and maintain the competitiveness of the most sensitive industrial sectors, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has included certain tariff items corresponding to the steel industry in the electrical, electronic, automotive, and automotive parts industries of the industry promotion plan in the temporary provisions of the decree. Incorporating these products into the PROSEC program will allow for tax reductions, which will continue from August 16, 2023 until July 31, 2025.

Among the products with anti-dumping duties listed in the decree, stainless steel from China and Taiwan, China; Cold rolled sheets from China and South Korea; The import of coated flat steel from China and Taiwan, China and seamless steel pipes from South Korea, India and Ukraine will be affected by this tariff increase.

The decree will affect the trade relations and the flow of goods between Mexico and its non free trade agreement trading partners, including Brazil, China, Taiwan, China, South Korea and India. But countries with a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Mexico are not affected by this law.

Chinese exporters with product coverage are reminded to pay attention to policy changes, adjust their quotation structure and strategy reasonably, and avoid customer loss caused by sudden cost increases under temporary tariffs.