Mexican lawmakers have approved new, higher tariffs on imports designated as “strategic items” from South Korea, China and other Asian nations without a trade deal with Mexico.

Mexico’s Senate announced on Wednesday, local time, that it had voted in favor of an amendment to the General Export-Import Tax Act that imposes tariffs of between five percent and 50 percent on more than one-thousand-400 Asian products.

The new tariffs, spearheaded by President Claudia Sheinbaum, are expected to take effect in January of next year and affect goods such as automobiles, auto parts, steel, aluminum, plastics and textiles.

New or increased tariffs on most items will generally be around 35 percent rather than 50 percent, according to Mexican media reports, reflecting business groups' concerns.

Sheinbaum has said the move aims to protect local industry and address trade imbalances, particularly with China.

Trade between Mexico and China has more than doubled in the past decade, leaving Mexico with a bilateral trade deficit of 120 billion U.S. dollars.

South Korea has also consistently recorded a trade surplus with Mexico, its largest trading partner in Latin America, driven by exports of high-tech goods such as electronics, auto parts, and machinery, with a surplus of over 12 billion dollars logged through the third quarter of 2024.

Although Seoul and Mexico City have signed an investment guarantee agreement, the most basic framework between trading partners, it offers no defense against tariffs.

Analysts view Mexico's move as an attempt to distance itself from China and pacify the United States ahead of the upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.