Loading…
Loading…
A second tariff package under President Sheinbaum's Plan México import-substitution strategy. Where the December 2025 LIGIE reform (2025-12-29-mexico-decreto-ligie-1463-tariff-lines) was a statutory amendment passed by Congress covering 1,463 tariff lines, this April 2026 instrument is an executive-issued presidential decree under the President's existing tariff authority, layering an additional 185 lines on top of the December schedule.
Coverage. 185 tariff fractions across chemicals, cosmetics, paper and cardboard, textiles, steel, graphic arts, aluminum manufactures, auto parts, electrical material, bicycles, musical instruments, furniture, wind turbines and trailers. Several sectors — wind turbines and trailers in particular — are NEW to the post-Plan-México tariff perimeter; the chemicals chapter is also a notable expansion beyond the December reform's footprint.
Rate structure. Six discrete bands: 5%, 10%, 15%, 25%, 30%, 35% ad valorem. No 50% lines (those remain in the December 2025 LIGIE statute for finished passenger vehicles).
Origin-conditional. Identical scoping to the December 2025 reform: the new rates apply only to non-FTA-origin goods. USMCA partners (US, Canada), EU under the Global Agreement, CPTPP signatories, Japan, Israel, EFTA and Pacific Alliance partners remain at preferential rates when origin requirements are met.
Paired PROSEC modifications. The decree adds tariff fractions to PROSEC Article 5 sections I (electrical), II.b (electronics) and XIX (automotive/auto parts) at exempt (EX) rate. This creates an asymmetric outcome: registered PROSEC manufacturers in those sectors can import the same inputs duty-free regardless of origin, while non-PROSEC importers (and importers of the broader 185-line list outside those PROSEC chapters) bear the full MFN burden. The design effectively channels OEM/Tier-1 assembly inside formal manufacturing programmes while raising the cost of finished-good or grey-market imports.
Legal authority. Presidential decree under Article 131 of the Constitution and the President's delegated tariff authority, distinct from the December 2025 LIGIE statutory reform. The instrument is therefore reversible by subsequent decree — a material durability difference vs the LIGIE-statute lines.
Timing — replaces expiring temporary measure. The April 2026 decree was issued the day after a separate temporary tariff measure (covering a different but partially overlapping fraction list) expired on 22 April 2026, and is thus partly a renewal / relabelling of duties that had been in force on a time-limited basis.
December 2025 LIGIE reform, this decree extends the Plan México import-substitution perimeter by another 185 lines. Roughly 1,650 tariff fractions are now subject to elevated MFN duties for non-FTA imports; the gap between FTA and non-FTA cost structures is now a structural feature of the Mexican import regime rather than a temporary anti-dumping posture.
affected origin: chemical products (Mexico's #2 import line from China), bicycles, electrical material, furniture and steel are all in this list. Combined with the December LIGIE reform, Mexico's tariff wall against Chinese-origin goods is now substantially higher than the US Section 301 schedule for many lines.
The PROSEC carve-outs for electrical/electronics/automotive inputs partially offset the MFN raise for OEMs willing to formally register and meet PROSEC compliance — this nudges Chinese OEMs (BYD, Chery, etc.) toward formal PROSEC registration rather than informal supply-chain routing, which in turn forces more transparent capex commitment and origin verification.
months before the July 2026 USMCA six-year review — is consistent with Sheinbaum's strategy of preemptively demonstrating tariff alignment with US concerns about Mexico as a Chinese-goods conduit. The chemicals chapter expansion and the PROSEC OEM channelling are visible USTR-readable signals.
- Steel/aluminum: stacks on top of US Section 232 + LIGIE 1463 lines; Mexican mills are now the principal duty-protected suppliers in NA market. - Chemicals/cosmetics: new categories not in December reform; pharma-adjacent inputs see first MFN exposure. - Wind turbines and trailers: unusual additions suggesting active CFE/Mexican-content procurement targeting in the energy and logistics-equipment space.
inflation report had flagged the LIGIE reform as a 2026 H1 risk; this April 2026 layer adds chemicals (intermediate- good price feed-through) and finished consumer goods (cosmetics, bicycles, furniture, musical instruments) to the pass-through risk set.
in the DOF text, not yet ingested into IPTM action data.
the new 185 lines — whether the Foley & Lardner reading of the December reform (maquilas not exempt unless PROSEC-registered) carries to this decree.
executive-decree authority means rate adjustments can occur inter-LIGIE-cycle.
electronics) negotiating posture — the April expansion adds pressure beyond the December baseline.
importers; precedent under the 2024 textile decree was largely dismissed but the broader scope may revive arguments.