The United States is pressuring Mexico to implement new rules for AI hardware exports, aiming to limit the amount of components sourced from outside North America. This proposal, reported by the Wall Street Journal, is designed to prevent Chinese and other foreign companies from using Mexico to circumvent U.S. tariffs on goods, particularly as AI hardware has become Mexico's largest export to the U.S. this year, surpassing automobiles.
This initiative is part of broader negotiations to revise the USMCA trade deal, which President Trump has previously threatened to abandon. The proposed cap would apply to AI servers, chips, and related hardware, significantly impacting manufacturers who currently assemble products in Mexico using components from China or other Asian countries to benefit from lower tariff exposure. Ordinary semiconductors used in AI servers currently enter the U.S. largely tariff-free, a loophole U.S. officials are concerned Chinese suppliers could exploit.
The U.S. is also considering similar content thresholds for other goods, such as medical equipment, to reduce Chinese content across supply chains routed through Mexico. Senator Bernie Moreno emphasized the goal of preventing China from using Mexico and Canada as a gateway to bypass U.S. trade restrictions. If adopted, these strict North American content thresholds would increase costs and complexity for manufacturers and could reshape investment decisions in Mexico's electronics sector, especially given the ongoing renegotiation of the USMCA relationship. Mexico's economy grew only 0.8% in 2025, but foreign direct investment reached $40.9 billion, a 14.5% increase, indicating investor confidence in Mexico's structural position within a reorganized North American supply chain.
