Mexico raises tariffs on imports from Asia

Summary

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)

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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.

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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)

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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.

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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)

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

Transcript

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[William Lee Adams]

Mexico raises tariffs on imports from Asia Live from the UK this is the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service. I'm William Lee Adams. Good morning. Mexico's parliament has voted in favor of the bill that imposes tariffs of between 5 and 50% on more than 1,400 products from Asian nations, including China, that don't have a trade deal with Mexico. The new levies will take effect starting next year. The BBC's Nick Marsh has the details. Nick Hyde. Hi.

[Nick Hyde]

Hi, William.

[William Lee Adams]

So, Nick, how far reaching are these tariffs?

[Nick Hyde]

Well, it's quite significant. Mexico has effectively decided to impose import taxes on hundreds of goods from any Asian country it doesn't have a free trade agreement with. So that includes South Korea, Thailand, India. But by far the biggest and the most important is the one you mentioned, China. So starting in January, steel, aluminium, textiles, car parts, you name it, they'll be taxed between 5 and 50%, depending on the item. And when it comes to China, we're talking about $130 billion worth of goods every year. So it is a very significant chunk of what comes into Mexico now subject to import taxes.

[William Lee Adams]

Has Mexico's government explained what's behind the introduction of the tariffs?

[Nick Hyde]

If you ask Claudia Scheinbaum, 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. It's the reason that anyone really puts tariffs in in. If you ask China, it's because she is under enormous pressure from Donald Trump to do it. So for two reasons. Firstly, because her country, Mexico itself is bearing the brunt of US Tariffs, and she's desperate to get them removed. So 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 US Is the preferred trading partner of Mexico, essentially, not any Asian country. Secondly, there is a feeling in the US which has been growing, that Mexico has become a bit of a backdoor for Chinese goods to get into America and therefore avoid Trump's tariffs. So if you're a Chinese car parts factory and you send your goods to Mexico tariff free, then you can sell them onto the U.S. now, the White House has clamped down on that to a certain extent, but there's been this desire in the United States to try and align the whole of the American continent against Beijing and Beijing's economic might. Now, China is not happy about this, as you can imagine. It said Mexico is under coercion to do this.

[William Lee Adams]

Nick, thanks for joining us on Marketplace.

[Nick Hyde]

My pleasure.

[William Lee Adams]

Okay, let's do the numbers. Copper climbed as much as 1.5% to $11,600ametric ton, close to its record high after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates to a three year low. Elsewhere, the Indian rupee fell 0.6% to 90.49 per dollar. That's a record low. The rupee has fallen more than 5% this year. Survivors of a deadly typhoon in the Philippines have filed a legal claim in Britain against the oil and gas giant Shell. They're seeking compensation, saying the company's release of huge amounts of greenhouse gases made the storm more severe. Typhoon Rye struck the Philippines just before Christmas in 2021, killing more than 400 people and displacing tens of thousands. Shell has denied the legal claim, as.

Drones have become a key weapon on the modern battlefield, especially in the war between Russia and Ukraine. And making drones and developing the technology to thwart them has become a lucrative business, as the BBC's Gideon Long reports.

[Gideon Long]

In a clearing in a forest in Ukraine, a soldier sends a drone high into the air. It's a small device, maybe 30cm across with rotor blades on each corner and a standard commercial drone, the kind of thing you might use to take aerial footage at your wedding or birthday party, but strap a bomb to it and it becomes a deadly weapon. The Russians and Ukrainians have used them to devastating effect. Before Russia's full scale invasion in 2022, there were just a handful of companies in Ukraine making drones. Now there are hundreds. Stacey Pettijohn is director of the Defence Program at the center for a New American Security in Washington. And the author of several reports on drone warfare.

[Stacey Pettijohn]

This has been the first full blown drone war in Ukraine. 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.

[Gideon Long]

Ksenia Kalmus is one of those mom and pop drone producers. Before the war, she was a floral artist with a flower shop in kyiv. But after 2022, she set up a company called Klin Drones.

[Ksenia Kalmus]

It was just obvious decision for me. I just wanted to help my country, help my people and military. I helped them with different stuff. And at that moment I realized that all the requests were for drones.

[Gideon Long]

And where do you get the parts for the drones from? Do you have to buy them in the frames or are you producing them yourselves using 3D printers? Where do you get the parts?

[Ksenia Kalmus]

We are focused on Ukrainian components mostly. We don't want to give money to China, so we buy components.

[Gideon Long]

In Ukraine, Ksenia's company relies on donations, but elsewhere, drones are big business. US company AeroVironment has seen its share price soar over 500% since the invasion of Ukraine. Portugal's Tekava is valued at over a billion dollars. And Germany's stock is is also expanding its operations. So what are the likely next developments in drone warfare? At the moment, many drones have to be guided to their targets by an operator, an actual human being with a remote control panel standing within range of the drone and therefore often in danger. But Stacey Pettijohn at the center for a New American Security says that will evolve.

[Stacey Pettijohn]

I do think there are going to be further changes in the future as autonomy advances. That's gonna be the next real shift.

[Gideon Long]

In the meantime, back in Kyiv, former floral artist Ksenia Kalmus says she will continue to assemble small, cheap drones for use on the front line. I'm the BBC's Gideon Long for Marketplace.

[William Lee Adams]

And finally, the popular Australian soap opera Neighbors is coming to an end again, less than three years after Amazon rebooted the series. During its 40 year run, it made famous some of the world's biggest stars, including Margot Robbie and Kylie Minogue. In the uk I'm William Lee Adams with the Marketplace morning report from the BBC World Service.

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