Shipping from China and Taiwan to Mexico: Tariffs up to 50%

Bottom line

Since January 1, 2026 the duty depends on where your goods originate, and China and Taiwan are on the wrong side of the line

Mexico raised its general import duty on 1,463 tariff lines to between 5% and 50%, effective January 1, 2026, with no end date. Goods that qualify under one of Mexico's 14 trade agreements keep their preferential rates. China, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Thailand and Indonesia have no agreement with Mexico, so their goods pay the new rates.

The effect is already in the trade data. Mexican imports of the tariffed goods fell 23.2% in January–May 2026, with China down 28.4% and Taiwan down 32%.

Three things to get right:

Origin decides the rate, not the port of loading. Routing Chinese goods through Vietnam or Japan changes nothing unless the product truly originates there and carries a certificate of origin.
IMMEX does not make the duty disappear. If your finished product enters the United States duty-free under USMCA, the Mexican duty on Chinese or Taiwanese inputs is generally still owed.
Budget time for the port as well as the ocean. Shanghai to Manzanillo is about 17 days at sea, but clearance at Manzanillo has been taking three to seven days and containers have sat for weeks.

China and Taiwan to Mexico, door to door

Origin · before sailing

Booking, trucking and export declaration at Shanghai, Ningbo or Kaohsiung

Check first: the 8-digit Mexican tariff line
Ocean · 17–25 days

About 17 days from Shanghai to Manzanillo; about 25 from Kaohsiung, the first port of the rotation

Next call: Lázaro Cárdenas
Customs · 3–7 days

Mexican duty of 5–50% on listed lines, plus a 0.8% processing fee and 16% VAT

Who: the importer and a licensed broker
Inland delivery

Truck or rail from the port, with a Carta Porte transport document

Watch: storage and demurrage at Manzanillo

What changed on January 1, 2026?

Table 1. Mexico's 2026 tariff change at a glance
Item	Detail
Legal basis	Decree amending Mexico's General Import and Export Duties Law, published December 29, 2025
Effective date	January 1, 2026. No expiry date
Scope	1,463 eight-digit tariff lines in 17 sectors, about 12% of the tariff schedule. 316 of them were duty-free before
New rates	5% to 50%, depending on the product
Who pays	Any goods that do not qualify for preference under a trade agreement in force with Mexico
Follow-up decree	April 23, 2026: 185 more lines keep the higher duties first set in 2024, now permanently
Small parcels	Courier shipments up to US$2,500 from non-agreement countries pay a flat 33.5%, up from 19%

Source: White & Case; Alvarez & Marsal; Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg

Representative rates by sector

Table 2. Representative duty rates by sector, 2025 and 2026
Sector	2025 rate	2026 rate	Tariff lines affected
Automobiles	20%	50%	—
Auto parts	0%	25%	74
Steel	25%	35%	268
Aluminum	0%	25%	38
Textiles	10%	25%	418
Apparel	25%	35%	308
Footwear	25%	35%	49
Plastics	15%	25%	79
Paper and cardboard	5%	35%	50
Toys	15%	30%	—
Cosmetics	10%	25%	—

Source: Alvarez & Marsal; Foley & Lardner

Which origins pay the higher rates?

Table 3. Which origins pay the higher rates
Origin	Trade agreement with Mexico	Result
China	None	Pays the 2026 rates. Anti-dumping duties apply on top for a growing list of products
Taiwan	None	Pays the 2026 rates on listed lines. Most electronics are not on the list
South Korea, India, Thailand, Indonesia	None	Pay the 2026 rates
Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore	CPTPP, plus a bilateral agreement for Japan	Preferential rate if the goods meet the rules of origin
European Union, United Kingdom	EU–Mexico agreement; CPTPP with the UK since June 22, 2026	Preferential rate if originating
United States, Canada	USMCA	Preferential rate if originating

Source: Tetakawi: Mexico's trade agreements; White & Case

Mexico has 14 agreements covering 52 countries. In every case the preference depends on the goods meeting that agreement's rules of origin, and the importer needs a valid certificate or certification of origin before clearance.

What the tariffs have done so far

Table 4. Mexican imports of tariffed goods, January–May 2026
Imports of tariffed goods, Jan–May 2026	Change on the year
All origins	Down 23.2%, from US$15.38 billion to US$11.81 billion
China	Down 28.4%
Taiwan	Down 32%
South Korea	Down 22%
India	Down 12.3%
Auto parts	Down 39.5%
Footwear	Down 37.9%
Steel products	Down 30%

Source: Mexico News Daily, Jul 21, 2026

Over the same months, Mexico's total imports from Asia rose 42.5%, and imports from Taiwan more than tripled on demand for AI chips and servers. The tariffs are biting on the listed goods, while electronics keep growing.

Taiwan: 82 lines softened, electronics untouched

Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations said in December 2025 that information and communications products such as chips, servers, graphics cards and printed circuit boards are not on the list. They make up about 70% of Taiwan's exports to Mexico.

For the rest, Taiwan raised 105 priority lines with Mexico and 82 were accepted:

27 lines keep their previous rate, including 21 auto parts such as rear-view mirrors, three plastics products and three steel products.
55 lines take a smaller increase than first proposed, including gearboxes, chemical fiber, resin, PVC, artificial leather, cardboard, labels, cosmetics and motorcycles.

Taiwan's exports in the affected categories were about US$820 million in 2024.

Does IMMEX avoid the duty?

Not by itself. IMMEX, Mexico's program for export manufacturers, defers duty on temporary imports. It does not cancel it.

The limit comes from USMCA Article 2.5, often called the "lesser of the two" rule. When the finished product is exported to the United States or Canada, relief on a non-originating input is capped at the lower of two amounts: the Mexican duty on the input, or the duty paid on the finished product in the destination country.

Table 5. IMMEX and the duty on Asian inputs
Situation	Duty on a Chinese or Taiwanese input
Imported for sale in Mexico	Full 2026 rate
IMMEX; finished product enters the US duty-free under USMCA	Relief is zero, so the Mexican duty is generally payable
IMMEX; input duty 25%, finished product pays 10% in the US	Relief is capped at 10%; the other 15% is paid in Mexico
PROSEC or Rule 8 authorization	A lower authorized rate can apply to specific inputs in approved sectors

Source: Foley & Lardner; Tetakawi

Import VAT is a separate track. IMMEX does not remove it, although a certified company can receive a credit for the full amount.

How long does shipping take, and which port should you use?

Table 6. Ocean transit from China and Taiwan to Mexico's Pacific ports
From	To	Ocean transit	Notes
Shanghai	Manzanillo	About 17 days on the quickest direct services	Many carriers call direct
Kaohsiung	Manzanillo	About 25 days on direct services	Kaohsiung is the first port of the rotation
Kaohsiung, Shekou, Hong Kong, Ningbo, Shanghai	Manzanillo, then Lázaro Cárdenas	One weekly string	Wan Hai's Asia–South America service, with Evergreen, COSCO and PIL

Source: Fluent Cargo: Shanghai–Manzanillo; Fluent Cargo: Taiwan–Mexico; AJOT: Wan Hai service

The Taiwan figure is longer for a simple reason. On the direct service the ship loads in Kaohsiung first, then calls at Shekou, Hong Kong, Ningbo and Shanghai before crossing the Pacific. Transit times are schedule estimates; confirm the current rotation before you promise a delivery date.

Table 7. Mexican ports for Asian cargo
Port	Role	What to know in late 2026
Manzanillo	Mexico's main Pacific container gateway	The main pressure point. Clearance has taken three to seven days, containers have been held for 20 to 30 days in bad periods, and the foreign trade council COMCE says delays have added up to 20% to logistics costs
Lázaro Cárdenas	Second Pacific gateway, the next call on many Asia services	The usual alternative when Manzanillo is congested
Ensenada	Pacific port serving Baja California	Described as comparatively stable
Altamira, Veracruz	Gulf ports	Altamira is described as comparatively stable; transit from Asia is longer

Source: Expansión (in Spanish); Mexico Business News; C.H. Robinson, Nov 2026

C.H. Robinson's November 2026 update, written about Mexico's ocean exports, makes a point that holds for imports too: base ocean rates have been relatively stable, and congestion-related charges such as storage and missed cut-offs are what push the total up.

What does it cost to land? A worked example

Assume plastic household goods from China with a customs value of US$100,000, on a line that moved from 15% to 25%.

Table 8. Worked example: border charges on US$100,000 of plastic goods
Charge	2025	2026	Same goods with a valid trade-agreement preference at 0%
Import duty	$15,000	$25,000	$0
Customs processing fee (DTA), 0.8% of customs value	$800	$800	$800
Import VAT (IVA), 16% of value plus duty and DTA	$18,528	$20,128	$16,128
Paid at the border	$34,328	$45,928	$16,928

Source: Alvarez & Marsal; Federal Duties Law, Art. 49 (in Spanish); Camtom: import VAT (in Spanish)

The preference column is an illustration. The actual preferential rate depends on the agreement and the tariff line. Broker fees, port charges and inland freight are not included.

What does a first-time importer into Mexico need?

Table 9. What a first-time importer needs
Requirement	What it means
Importers Registry	Every importer must be listed. More than 400 product types also need a sector registry
Textiles, apparel and footwear	A dedicated registry, reference prices and a five-day waiting period
Customs broker and pedimento	Commercial imports clear through a licensed broker on a customs declaration called a pedimento
Documents	Commercial invoice in Spanish, bill of lading, and proof of compliance with Mexican product standards where they apply
Certificate of origin	Needed only to claim a trade-agreement preference
Inland move	A Carta Porte transport document for the truck or rail leg
2026 customs reform	In force since January 1: larger compliance files and more grounds to suspend an importer's registration

Source: US Commercial Service; Alvarez & Marsal

What could change next?

Table 10. What could change next
Item	Status	Why it matters
USMCA review	The US declined to confirm an extension on July 1, 2026, which triggers annual reviews. Comments for the 2027 review are due January 12, 2027	Rules on non-North American inputs are a focus
More Mexican trade measures	Under study, according to Bloomberg in August	Duties could rise on more lines
China's response	China's commerce ministry ruled on March 25, 2026 that Mexico's measures are trade and investment barriers and said it may respond	Risk of countermeasures on Mexican exports
Decrees during the year	The April 2026 decree on 185 lines took effect the day after it was issued	Rates can move between your order and your arrival

Source: Greenberg Traurig; Tetakawi; Bloomberg Government; Xinhua; Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg

A 6-step plan before your next shipment to Mexico

Classify at eight digits
- Ask the Mexican importer's broker for the tariff line and the 2026 rate.
- Check whether the line is among the 1,463.
Settle origin and paperwork
- Decide whether the goods can claim a trade-agreement preference.
- If not, price at the general rate. Do not rely on routing.
Model the landed cost
- Add duty, the 0.8% processing fee and 16% VAT, as in the example above.
- Agree in the sales contract who pays if the rate changes before arrival.
Choose the customs regime
- Compare a definitive import with IMMEX, and ask whether PROSEC or Rule 8 applies.
- For exports to the US, run the Article 2.5 calculation first.
Pick the port and add buffer
- Compare Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas on clearance time and inland cost, not only ocean rate.
- Add one to two weeks to your delivery promise.
Lock the documents before sailing
- Spanish invoice, registry status, product-standard labels and any certificate of origin.
- A missing document is the most common reason a container sits at the terminal.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mexico's tariff on Chinese goods in 2026?

It depends on the product. Since January 1, 2026, Mexico's general duty on 1,463 tariff lines ranges from 5% to 50%. Cars pay 50%, steel, apparel, footwear and paper about 35%, and plastics, textiles, aluminum, auto parts and cosmetics about 25%. Goods not on the list keep their earlier rate.

Do the new tariffs apply to goods from Taiwan?

Yes. Taiwan has no trade agreement with Mexico. Electronics such as chips, servers and circuit boards, about 70% of Taiwan's exports to Mexico, are not on the list, and Mexico softened the increase on 82 lines that Taiwan raised.

Which countries are exempt from the 2026 tariffs?

No country is exempt as such. Goods that originate in one of Mexico's 52 trade-agreement partners, including the US, Canada, the EU, the UK, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, keep preferential rates if they meet the rules of origin and have a certificate of origin.

Does IMMEX exempt me from the duty?

No. IMMEX defers duty on temporary imports. For products exported to the US or Canada, USMCA Article 2.5 caps the relief at the lower of the Mexican input duty and the duty paid on the finished product, so if the finished product enters duty-free the input duty is generally payable.

Can I avoid the tariff by shipping through Vietnam, Japan or the US?

Not by routing alone. The duty follows the origin of the goods. A product made in China and shipped from another country is still Chinese unless it is transformed enough to meet that agreement's rules of origin.

How long does ocean freight take from China or Taiwan to Mexico?

About 17 days from Shanghai to Manzanillo on the quickest direct services, and about 25 days from Kaohsiung. Add time for customs and port dwell, which have been long at Manzanillo.

Should I use Manzanillo or Lázaro Cárdenas?

Manzanillo has the most services and the most congestion. Lázaro Cárdenas is the usual alternative and is the next call on many Asia services. Compare clearance time, storage risk and inland cost as well as the ocean rate.

What do I pay at import besides the duty?

A customs processing fee of 0.8% of the customs value and import VAT of 16%, calculated on the value plus duty and fees. Registered businesses can generally credit the VAT.

What about small parcels from China?

Courier shipments up to US$2,500 from countries without a trade agreement pay a flat 33.5% under the simplified procedure. Parcels from the US and Canada follow separate USMCA thresholds.

Will the tariffs be removed after the USMCA review?

Nothing suggests that. The decree has no end date, a second decree in April 2026 made earlier increases permanent, and Mexico was reported in August to be studying further measures.

About this guide

Paul Liang
Mingsung International Logistics, Taipei

Last reviewed: Nov 12, 2026
Experience: Written by Paul Liang at Mingsung International Logistics in Taipei. Mingsung handles FCL and LCL ocean exports from Taiwan and mainland China and runs its own cross-strait services, so we prepare origin-side bookings and documents for Latin American destinations.
Coverage: Covers Mexico's 2026 tariff changes, origin and trade-agreement rules, IMMEX limits, ocean transit times and port choice, import taxes and first-importer requirements.
Based on: Based on Mexico's decree of December 29, 2025 as summarized by White & Case, Foley & Lardner and Alvarez & Marsal; Mexican trade data reported by Mexico News Daily; statements by Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations; the US Commercial Service's Mexico guide; and Article 49 of Mexico's Federal Duties Law.
Please note: General information, not customs or tax advice. Rates apply at the eight-digit tariff line and can change by decree. Confirm classification, origin and program eligibility with a licensed Mexican customs broker. Mingsung is not a customs broker in Mexico and does not issue certificates of origin.

Update log

Nov 12, 2026First published. Tariff position reflects the decrees of December 29, 2025 and April 23, 2026.

Shipping from China and Taiwan to Mexico: Tariffs up to 50%

Bottom line

China and Taiwan to Mexico, door to door