Mexico increases trade barriers for Chinese imports

A seasonal decrease in demand starting later in February should see rates ease on the ex-Asia lanes, though Red Sea diversions will keep them elevated well above long-term averages just as they were through 2024. Pre-Lunar New Year demand will combine with higher than-normal volumes for this time of year into the United States. And the post-LNY dip in volumes will likely be less pronounced than usual too as many US shippers continue to frontload ahead of expected tariff increases, with this pull-forward already reflected in record November volumes at the port of Long Beach.

Since the 2017 start of the US-China trade war, Chinese imports to the US have fallen while Mexican imports increased. But at the same time, Chinese investment in and trade with Mexico surged.

And with Mexican tariffs usually lower than US duties, the USMCA facilitating low-barrier trade between Mexico and the US, and the INMEX program allowing many imports destined for the US to enter Mexico duty-free, many of these Chinese imports were arriving in Mexico as a channel to the US market.

Last week though, Mexico’s President Sheinbaum signed an act that immediately raised tariffs on apparel imports from countries including China to as high as 35%. The act will also essentially close INMEX to certain categories of textiles and apparel, challenging importers who had relied on these methods to reduce their exposure to US duties, including e-commerce sellers for whom INMEX was key to their decisions to import via Mexico.  In January, the government will also start enforcing stricter reporting requirements for B2C e-commerce imports.

Volume strength relative to last year, together with Red Sea-driven capacity reductions kept 2024 transatlantic container rates above the loss-making lows seen in 2023, with prices around the US$2,500/FEU level since October. Though rates dipped 10% last week, carriers are announcing January disruption surcharges for this lane in anticipation of a possible mid-month ILA strike. A prolonged strike would cause congestion and disruptions that could put additional upward pressure on East Coast lanes in January.

In air cargo, Freightos Air Index data show that transpacific rates eased to US$5.67/kg last week from highs of around US$7.00/kg earlier in December as the peak season for air closes. China – Europe prices came down to about US$4.25/kg after surpassing the US$5.00/kg level earlier in the month and transatlantic prices are down to US$2.30/kg from an early-December high of US$3.16/kg.