Cars are displayed at a dealership in Mexico City, Mexico, on September 10, 2025. Photo: VCG

Mexico's Economy Ministry said on Wednesday that it plans to raise tariffs on automobiles from China and other Asian countries to 50 percent, Reuters reported, noting that the move comes as "the US pushes countries in Latin America to limit their economic ties with China."

A Chinese expert on Thursday criticized the US of coercing and bullying its trading partners to reduce economic and trade cooperation with China, and called on Mexico to maintain independence and consider economic ties with China from the perspective of its own interests.

The tariffs will impact countries that do not have trade deals with Mexico, including China, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand and Turkey, the Economy Ministry said in a document, according to Reuters.

The measures also include a 35 percent tariff on steel, toys and motorcycles. Textiles will see levies between 10 percent and 50 percent, the document said, noting that the plan still needs to be approved by Mexican Congress.

Mexico made the move "under US pressure," AFP reported. The White House has claimed Chinese producers "are abusing a free-trade deal between the US, Mexico and Canada to send goods northward over the Mexican border tariff-free," according to AFP.

"Citing the excuse that Chinese exports are being exported to the US via Mexico, the US is coercing and bullying other countries to reduce bilateral trade with China," He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The US' move is unreasonable since the US has no right to interfere in Mexico's trade ties with other countries, He said, stressing that the US' move violates WTO rules of non-discrimination treatment.

When asked to comment on a media report claiming that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her government is considering imposing tariffs on imports from countries that do not have trade agreements with Mexico, including China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a press conference on September 5, "China-Mexico economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial and its fruits benefit the two peoples."

"China advocates a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization and opposes unilateralism and protectionism in any form and discriminatory and exclusive measures. We also firmly oppose setting restrictions on China and undermining China's legitimate rights and interests with all kinds of excuses under the coercion of others. We believe that relevant countries will uphold independence and properly handle relevant issues," Guo stressed.

Mexico is China's second largest trading partner in Latin America, and China is Mexico's third largest export destination. 

According to China's General Administration of Customs, bilateral trade between China and Mexico reached $109.426 billion in 2024, with Chinese exports totaling $90.232 billion and imports standing at $19.195 billion.

"Currently, the US government faces various domestic problems including inflation and employment pressure, and it should resolve trade frictions with China through dialogue and make good use of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism," Huo Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.