Star Metro - Mexico exports jump in 2025 despite US trade tensions

Over 80 percent of Mexico's exports, which totalled $664.8 billion, went to the neighboring United States, according to statistics released by national statistics agency INEGI.

Latin America's second-biggest economy, which is part of a free-trade agreement with the United States and Canada, has so far largely managed to avoid bilateral US tariffs.

But its steel and aluminum have been hit by levies on US imports of the metals of up to 50 percent.

Its key auto and auto parts sectors also face tariffs of 25 percent on goods that do not fall under the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada) trade agreement.

While Mexico's manufacturing exports grew 9.8 percent last year, its auto exports were down by 4.2 percent.

The country's imports also rose last year, but at a slower pace -- 4.4 percent -- than exports, resulting in a trade surplus of $771 million.

Under pressure from Trump, Mexico has hiked tariffs on China, its second-largest trading partner after the United States.

Trump accuses Chinese producers of using Mexico as a tariffs-free backdoor into the United States.

Sheinbaum's decision to implement tariffs of up to 50 percent on some Chinese goods from January 1 was widely seen as a concession to her powerful northern counterpart ahead of a review of the USMCA deal set for the fist half of 2026.

Mexico has also increased levies on imports from other countries with which it does not have a trade deal, including South Korea, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Taiwan and Brazil.

N.Fournier--SMC