On September 25, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) stated that China has decided to initiate an investigation into trade and investment barriers under the provisions of the Foreign Trade Law and the Rules for Investigating Foreign Trade Barriers. The spokesman said that China believes that, against the backdrop of the US imposing tariffs indiscriminately, all countries should jointly oppose unilateralism and protectionism in all forms, and must not sacrifice the interests of third parties due to coercion by others. He added that, if Mexico's unilateral tariff hike take effect, it would undermine the interests of relevant trading partners, including China, even within the WTO framework. It would also severely impact the certainty of Mexico's business environment and erode corporate confidence in investing in Mexico. China firmly opposes this move, he stated.
The subject of the investigation is the measures proposed by the Mexican government to increase import tariffs on products from non-free trade agreement partners, including China. Specifically, these measures involve product categories, such as automobiles and parts, textiles, apparel, plastics, steel, home appliances, aluminum, toys, furniture, footwear, leather goods, paper and paperboard, motorcycles, and glass. Additionally, other trade and investment restrictions imposed by Mexico in recent years that affect China are also within the scope of the investigation.
The MOC spokesman stated that the investigation will adhere to the principles of impartiality, fairness, and transparency. All stakeholders affected by Mexico's measures, including China's domestic industries and enterprises, are encouraged to actively participate in the investigation. He concluded by saying that China’s MOC will render an objective and impartial ruling based on the investigation’s findings and will take necessary measures according to actual circumstances to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.