The textile industry in the United States and Mexico welcomes the increased tariffs imposed on Chinese platforms like Shein and Temu

Textile entrepreneurs in Mexico and the United States hailed on Monday the Mexican government’s new 19% duty on products from e-commerce platforms from nations without a trade agreement, which will mostly affect Chinese enterprises such as Shein and Temu.

The North American organizations accused companies from nations such as China “of deliberately employing unfair trade practices such as dumping, smuggling and undervaluation of textile products” that “affect the competitiveness of national producers and put thousands of jobs in Mexico at risk”.

The associations welcomed the tax that went into effect on January 1 following an agreement published in the Official Journal of the Federation (DOF) by the Tax Administration Service (SAT), which has warned that customs inspections will be stepped up.

The event is part of a more aggressive policy against Asian smuggling on the part of Mexico, which in the first week of the year confiscated 3 million pieces of illegally introduced merchandise, mostly from Asia.

In Mexico, the textile industry generates more than 1.2 million jobs, with an estimated 10 billion dollars in exports in 2024, while Mexico is the fourth largest exporter of textiles to the United States, according to Canaintex.

Meanwhile, the value of textile and apparel shipments in the United States was US$64.8 billion in 2023, according to the NCTO.