AFP, Mexico City

Mexico, under pressure not to serve as a back door for Chinese goods entering the United States, has proposed a 50-percent duty on car imports from the Asian giant -- up from 15-20 percent.

The initiative, contained in a bill submitted by the government to Congress, seeks to assuage US President Donald Trump -- who has repeatedly urged trading partners to increase duties on China -- while also bolstering Mexico’s industrial sector.

The White House has said Chinese producers are abusing a free-trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada to send goods northward over the Mexican border tariff-free.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has also complained of the impact of Chinese imports on domestic manufacturing, and the bill says the increased tariff will seek to protect 19 industrial sectors considered “strategic.”

It also proposes raising tariffs on other countries with which Mexico has no trade agreement.

Mexico replaced China in 2023 as the United States’ largest trading partner, with the Latin American country’s northern neighbor buying more than 80 percent of its exports.

It sends nearly three million automobiles to the United States a year, including cars and trucks assembled by US auto companies in Mexico.

If the bill is approved, light vehicle imports from China will be subject to a 50 percent tariff, and auto parts between 10 and 50 percent.

The bill, announced by the economy ministry Wednesday, said the changes sought to “protect the national industry in strategic sectors, replace imports from Asia with domestic production” and “improve Mexico’s trade balance.”

The initiative should protect 325,000 jobs in strategic industries and create thousands more, said the ministry.