Mexico weighs tariffs on China as Rubio meets with Sheinbaum

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that her government is considering new tariffs on imports from countries without trade agreements with Mexico, including China, as part of a push to strengthen domestic industry. “We are considering imposing certain tariffs,” Sheinbaum told reporters at her daily news conference. “The recipients will be countries that don’t have trade agreements with Latin America’s second-largest economy, including China.”

She did not specify which products or sectors could be targeted.

The plan comes under “Plan Mexico,” Sheinbaum’s initiative to counter President Donald Trump’s tariffs on select imports from Mexico. Mexico remains bound by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), signed during Trump’s first term, which requires the three countries to hold a joint review every six years.

The tariff discussion lined up with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Mexico City, where he praised the current level of bilateral security cooperation. “It is the closest security cooperation we have ever had, maybe with any country, but certainly in the history of US-Mexico relations,” Rubio said at a press conference alongside Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente.

Both governments said they were committed to continued joint action against organized crime, including cartels that the Trump administration has labeled foreign terrorist organizations. Mexico, however, emphasized that cooperation must respect national sovereignty. De la Fuente noted “undeniable results” on migration enforcement and security operations under the Sheinbaum and Trump administrations.

Rubio’s remarks came days after the US military destroyed a Venezuela-based vessel in the Caribbean that officials said was carrying drugs and members of the Tren de Aragua gang. “Such strikes will happen again,” Rubio said, describing them as part of Trump’s “war on narco terrorist organizations.”

Asked about Mexico’s stance on the strike, De la Fuente said his government remains committed to non-intervention while maintaining “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.”