Mexico Cozies Up to Trump With Crackdown on China Trade

First came the raid on a Mexico City shopping center known for selling Chinese-made clothing, toys and electronics. Then, last month, tariffs of almost 20% on packages from foreign e-commerce companies including Temu and Shein Group, and even higher duties on some textiles.

The highly publicized measures are all part of Claudia Sheinbaum’s crackdown on cheap Asian — and particularly Chinese – imports, as the Mexican President seeks to ally her country with the incoming US administration just days before Donald Trump takes office.

Her strategy came together this week with the announcement of ‘Plan Mexico,’ a sweeping package of incentives for companies to rely on domestically produced goods and focus on supply chains with the US and Canada.

Sheinbaum’s gambit is designed to ward off Trump’s threatened 25% tariff on all Mexican goods, a de facto repudiation of the free-trade agreement negotiated during his first term. It’s also a bid to convince Trump that Mexico, like the US, is a victim of unfair trade practices by China rather than part of the problem.

After years of increased imports and rising Chinese foreign investment in Mexico, Sheinbaum, who’s been in office for only four months, is aiming to reverse course.