Marketplace Morning Report – "Mexico Raises Tariffs on Imports from Asia"

Date: December 11, 2025
Host: William Lee Adams (BBC World Service, for Marketplace)
Special Guest: Nick Hyde (BBC), Gideon Long (BBC Reporter), Ksenia Kalmus (Klin Drones), Stacey Pettijohn (Center for a New American Security)

Overview

This episode centers on Mexico's decision to implement significant tariffs on more than 1,400 goods imported from Asian countries, particularly China. The discussion explores the motivations and implications of this policy shift, as well as reactions from the global community. Secondary segments cover updates on commodities and currencies, legal action connected to climate change, and the growing role of drones in the Ukraine conflict.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mexico's New Tariffs on Asian Imports

[00:59–03:29]

• Scope & Scale

  • Mexico's parliament has enacted tariffs of 5% to 50% on over 1,400 products from Asian countries without a trade agreement with Mexico—notably China, but also South Korea, Thailand, and India.
  • Start date: January 2026.
  • Goods affected: Steel, aluminium, textiles, car parts, and more.
  • "When it comes to China, we're talking about $130 billion worth of goods every year." (Nick Hyde, 01:51)

• Rationale

  • Protecting Domestic Industry:
    President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration frames the move as necessary to "protect Mexican jobs [and] Mexican manufacturers in the face of a deluge of cheap Chinese goods that they're not able to compete with." (Nick Hyde, 02:17)
  • Responding to U.S. Pressure:
    — U.S. tariffs on China incentivize Mexico to align its trade policy, appealing to former President Donald Trump’s priorities.
    — U.S. concern that Mexico serves as a "backdoor for Chinese goods to get into America and therefore avoid Trump's tariffs." (Nick Hyde, 02:45) — "By tariffing Chinese goods, she's showing Donald Trump they're on the same page." (Nick Hyde, 02:34)
  • China’s Reaction:
    China claims Mexico has been coerced into this position.
    "China is not happy about this, as you can imagine. It said Mexico is under coercion to do this." (Nick Hyde, 03:13)

2. Market Updates

[03:33–04:23]

• Commodities and Currency

  • Copper: Up as much as 1.5% to $11,600 a metric ton, nearing a record high after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates to a three-year low.
  • Indian Rupee: Fell 0.6% to 90.49 per dollar—a record low; down more than 5% this year.

• Legal Action and Climate

  • Survivors of 2021’s catastrophic Typhoon Rai in the Philippines have filed a legal claim against Shell in the UK, alleging the company’s emissions worsened the storm.
  • Shell has denied the claim.

3. Drones and the Changing Nature of Warfare

[04:23–07:26]

• Rise of Drone Warfare in Ukraine

  • Transformation of Industry: Before 2022, few drone companies in Ukraine; now, hundreds.
  • Grassroots Production:
    "You found that there are a million small startups. There are a ton of mom and pop shops where people are making drones... donating them to the forces." (Stacey Pettijohn, 05:25)

• Profile: Ksenia Kalmus (Klin Drones)

  • From floral artist to drone manufacturer.
  • "It was just obvious decision for me. I just wanted to help my country, help my people and military." (Ksenia Kalmus, 05:52)
  • Focuses on using Ukrainian components: "We don't want to give money to China, so we buy components [from Ukraine]." (Ksenia Kalmus, 06:17)

• Commercial Drone Boom

  • AeroVironment (US): Share price up over 500% since the war began.
  • Portugal’s Tekava: Now valued at over $1 billion.
  • Expansion in Germany.

• Future Technology

  • Current drones require a human operator, but "as autonomy advances, that's gonna be the next real shift." (Stacey Pettijohn, 07:05)

4. Notable Pop Culture Brief

[07:26–07:55]

• The Australian soap opera Neighbors is ending again, less than three years after Amazon’s reboot, after a 40-year run that helped launch stars like Margot Robbie and Kylie Minogue.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "[Tariffs will hit] any Asian country it doesn't have a free trade agreement with... But by far the biggest and the most important is... China. So starting in January, steel, aluminium, textiles, car parts, you name it, they'll be taxed between 5 and 50%."
  — Nick Hyde, 01:37

• "If you ask Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's president, it is to protect Mexican jobs, Mexican manufacturers in the face of a deluge of cheap Chinese goods that they're not able to compete with."
  — Nick Hyde, 02:15

• "By tariffing Chinese goods, she's showing Donald Trump they're on the same page. And she can go into any talks showing that the U.S. is the preferred trading partner of Mexico."
  — Nick Hyde, 02:34

• "You found that there are a million small startups. There are a ton of mom and pop shops where people are making drones and assembling them in their apartments, in their garages, and donating them to the forces in addition to established industries."
  — Stacey Pettijohn, 05:25

• "We don't want to give money to China, so we buy [drone] components [from Ukraine]."
  — Ksenia Kalmus, 06:17

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:59 — Introduction to Mexico's tariffs on Asian imports
• 01:27 — Nick Hyde details the reach & reasoning behind tariffs
• 02:34 — U.S. pressure & strategic trade alignment
• 03:13 — China's response
• 03:33 — Market and legal updates
• 04:23 — Drone warfare in Ukraine: business and technology
• 05:40–06:25 — Profile: Ksenia Kalmus and Ukrainian drone production
• 07:05 — The future: drone autonomy
• 07:26 — Neighbors soap opera ends

Tone and Language

The episode is succinct, matter-of-fact, and driven by clear explanations, direct quotes from experts, and economic context. Each story is relayed with the slightly urgent, informative tone of a daily business roundup, peppered with expert analysis and real-world examples.

This summary distills the key economic, global, and tech news from the December 11, 2025, Marketplace Morning Report episode, ensuring listeners are up-to-date on emerging policy shifts and developments.