One of the most striking paradoxes in Mexico’s current trade data: despite significant tariffs on imports from eleven Asian countries introduced in late 2025, total imports from Asia grew 8.5 times faster than imports from the Americas. Here is what the numbers say — and what it means for companies with cross-border trade flows in Mexico.
42.5%
Growth in Asian imports Jan–May 2026 vs same period 2025
233%
Increase in imports from Taiwan in the same period
49.85%
Share of total Mexican imports now supplied by Asia
The Numbers
According to data from Mexico’s central bank (Banxico), in the January to May 2026 period Mexico’s total imports from Asia reached $155.2 billion USD — up from $109.0 billion USD in the same period of 2025. That represents a 42.5% increase year-on-year.
Over the same period, imports from the Americas grew just 4.5% — from $118.1 billion to $123.4 billion USD. Asian countries now supply nearly half of everything Mexico imports. In the first five months of 2026, Asian countries represented 49.85% of Mexico’s total imports, compared to 39.61% for the Americas.
| Country | Share of Mexico’s total imports (Jan–May 2026) |
|---|---|
| United States | 34.32% |
| China | 17.42% |
| Taiwan | 11.54% |
| Rest of world | 36.72% |
The top three suppliers — the United States, China and Taiwan — together represented 63.28% of all Mexican imports in January–May 2026. Six out of every ten dollars Mexico spends in international trade goes to one of these three countries.
Taiwan: The Most Dramatic Shift
The most extraordinary case is Taiwan. Mexico imported $10.8 billion USD from Taiwan in January–May 2025. In the same period of 2026, that figure reached $35.9 billion USD — a 233.76% increase in a single year.
The primary driver is semiconductors and AI-related components. The surge in global demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure has created explosive demand for chips and data processing units — categories where Taiwan is the undisputed global leader. Mexico, which is rapidly building out both its manufacturing base and its digital infrastructure, is importing these components at unprecedented volumes.
The geographic concentration of this trade is revealing. Chihuahua has become the main destination for Taiwanese products in Mexico, driven by the San Jerónimo campus of Foxconn — which operates six plants supplying electronic semiconductors. Foxconn’s revenues in Mexico reached $5.4 billion USD at the close of 2025.
Singapore: A Different Dynamic
Singapore presents a different but equally significant case. Unlike Taiwan, Singapore is a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — which means it has an active free trade agreement with Mexico and its goods are not subject to the December 2025 tariffs on non-FTA countries.
Mexico’s trade deficit with Singapore grew 81.06% year-on-year in January–May 2026. Singapore’s exports to Mexico are led by electrical and electronic equipment, optical and medical apparatus and industrial machinery — categories that reflect its role as a hub for high-value technology manufacturing and regional trade.
The CPTPP exemption creates a structural tariff advantage for Singapore-origin goods over competitors from non-agreement countries — a dynamic that companies importing into Mexico from Southeast Asia need to factor into their supply chain decisions.
The Tariff Paradox Explained
The apparent contradiction — tariffs on Asian goods going up while total Asian imports also go up — is explained by two dynamics operating simultaneously in opposite directions.
The tariffs are working in specific categories
Mexico’s December 2025 tariff decree covers 1,463 tariff classifications across 17 industrial sectors for imports from countries without active FTAs — including China, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Vietnam and Thailand. In these tariffed categories, imports have declined meaningfully. The light vehicle sector saw one of the steepest decreases, and textiles, footwear, steel and chemicals from tariffed countries have also fallen.
But semiconductor and AI demand is overwhelming the tariff effect
The categories that are growing — semiconductors, chips, data processing units, AI-related components — are either not included in the tariffed product list or fall in categories with lower applicable rates. And the demand for these products is not discretionary: Mexico’s manufacturing and digital infrastructure expansion requires them regardless of tariff levels. The volume and value of these non-tariffed categories is large enough to more than offset the declines in tariffed goods — producing overall growth even as specific categories contract.
The Trade Deficit Implications
The surge in Asian imports is widening Mexico’s trade deficit with the region significantly. By May 2026, Mexico’s accumulated trade deficit with Asian economies reached $138.75 billion USD — a 44.24% increase compared to the same period of 2025.
| Country | Trade deficit growth (Jan–May 2026 vs 2025) |
|---|---|
| Taiwan | +252.70% |
| Singapore | +81.06% |
| Philippines | +62.51% |
| Malaysia | +37.12% |
| China | +0.51% |
Even with China — despite the tariffs — the trade deficit grew slightly to $47.8 billion USD at May 2026. The tariffs reduced China’s tariffed export categories, but total trade flows proved resilient.
What This Means for Companies Operating in Mexico
Get your tariff classification right — it determines everything
The December 2025 decree applies to 1,463 specific tariff classifications — not to all Asian imports. Whether your product is subject to the new tariffs depends entirely on its correct tariff classification. Getting this wrong has direct financial consequences. A customs broker with experience in your specific product category is essential.
Understand your FTA position
Countries with active free trade agreements with Mexico — including the US, Canada, the EU, Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and other CPTPP members — are exempt from the December 2025 tariffs. If you are sourcing from a non-FTA country and a comparable product is available from an FTA-origin supplier, the tariff differential may make supply chain restructuring worthwhile.
IMMEX compliance has become more complex
A reform to Mexico’s Customs Law published in November 2025 and effective January 2026 introduced tighter controls on temporary imports, including expanded documentation requirements for IMMEX operations and enhanced digital monitoring. Companies operating under IMMEX need to ensure their compliance processes reflect these new requirements.
Plan for tariffs as a permanent feature
The December 2025 decree has a stated validity through December 31, 2026 — but industry analysts expect renewal given the industrial policy rationale behind it. Companies that structure their import operations assuming the tariffs are temporary may be making an expensive assumption.
The key insight from Mexico’s trade data is that tariffs change the composition of trade flows — but strong underlying demand can overwhelm their aggregate effect. Understanding exactly which tariff classifications apply to your specific product, and which FTA exemptions are available, has never been more commercially important.
Final Thoughts
Mexico’s relationship with Asian trade is more nuanced than the headline tariff numbers suggest. The December 2025 tariff decree is real and it is affecting specific product categories. But the semiconductor and AI-driven surge from Taiwan, combined with the FTA advantages of Singapore and other CPTPP members, has produced overall Asian import growth that the tariffs simply cannot contain.
For companies with cross-border trade flows in Mexico — whether importing from Asia, exporting to Asian markets, or structuring manufacturing operations that source components internationally — the practical question is not whether to engage with Asia. It is how to structure that engagement correctly given Mexico’s evolving tariff landscape.