December 26, 2024 – Mexico Implements Significant Measures to Safeguard Textile Industry Jobs
In a major move to protect employment in its domestic textile sector, the Mexican government has recently taken decisive action. On December 19th, President Claudia Sheinbaum and Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard jointly signed a new decree imposing a 35% import tariff on 138 tariff lines of textiles and apparel products. Simultaneously, a list of textiles prohibited from import was established. This decree came into effect on December 20th and will remain valid until April 22nd, 2026.
The new tariff policy primarily targets products imported from countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico, including China. Notably, the United States, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Chile, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and Japan are exempt from these tariffs. Minister Ebrard emphasized that the addition of these 138 textile items to the tariff list is a crucial supplement and improvement to the textile tariff regime implemented in April this year.
According to insights from the Color Masterbatch Industry Network, Mexico’s textile industry plays a vital role in the domestic economy, directly impacting the livelihoods of nearly 500,000 people. However, the industry has faced severe challenges in recent years, with a loss of 79,000 jobs in 2024 alone. Some companies have been evading taxes by importing textiles as raw materials for export goods but selling them directly within Mexico, severely harming the interests of the local textile industry. Consequently, the Mexican government has decided to adopt stricter measures to protect the domestic textile sector and prevent further job losses.
As the largest source of textile imports to Mexico, China exported textiles worth $14.532 billion to Mexico from January to September 2024. The new tariff policy implemented by the Mexican government is undoubtedly set to impact Sino-Mexican textile trade. Moving forward, finding a balance between trade protection and cooperation will be a key focus for both parties.