ANPACT Urges Fair Rules Amid Chinese Truck Import Concerns

The National Association of Bus, Truck, and Tractor Manufacturers (ANPACT) has raised concerns over the competitive practices of Chinese truck manufacturers entering the Mexican market, accusing them of "dumping" by artificially lowering prices. ANPACT is calling for equal regulatory conditions to ensure fair competition.

Rogelio Arzate, ANPACT President, highlighted the issue during a virtual press conference announcing Expo Transporte ANPACT 2025. The event, expected to generate MX$1 billion in economic activity in Guadalajara, Jalisco, will serve as a key exhibition for the Latin American heavy truck sector. Arzate stressed the need for “a level playing field” in competition, customs regulations, industry standards, and tariffs.

“We have not seen an equal playing field in this regard. Public policies should ensure fairness in competition, customs, and regulations,” he said.

ANPACT’s concerns emerge amid a broader crisis in the Mexican heavy truck industry, which has seen a 50% decline in production, exports, and sales so far in 2025. Contributing factors include a slowdown in US sales, tariff uncertainties, and the growing influx of used trucks, which are undercutting new vehicle sales.

Chinese manufacturers, including Shacman and Foton, are aggressively reducing prices to enter the Mexican market. A heavy-duty truck from these brands costs around MX$2.8 million, compared with approximately MX$3.7 million for a comparable Kenworth model from the United States.

To further reduce costs and secure market share, Chinese brands have partnered with transportation associations like CANACAR, offering preferential pricing to fleet operators upgrading their vehicles. This strategy has raised concerns that these companies are creating a captive market through heavily discounted deals.

ANPACT emphasized that it supports healthy competition but insists the Mexican government enforce standard regulations for all manufacturers. The association particularly criticized tariff exemptions granted to Chinese manufacturers with assembly plants in Mexico. These plants mainly assemble trucks from imported parts rather than producing vehicles with substantial local content, allowing them to bypass tariffs and offer lower prices than domestic trucks.

Despite these challenges, Arzate noted some progress. “There are signs we are achieving a level playing field, especially as all vehicles coming from China must now pay the applicable tariffs,” he said.

Mexico became the world’s leading destination for Chinese vehicles in 2025, surpassing Russia, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Although Chinese vehicles face tariffs of up to 20% in Mexico, this is low compared with the 100% tariffs imposed by the United States on Chinese electric vehicles, along with a ban on most cars with software developed in China. The surge of Chinese vehicles has sparked debate over the impact on local industries and trade relations with China and the United States.

President Claudia Sheinbaum has explored strategies to reduce Mexico’s budget deficit, which reached its highest level since the 1980s in 2024 due in part to major government spending on flagship projects under former President López Obrador. Potential measures include increasing tariffs on Chinese imports to boost revenue. At the same time, her administration is strengthening the domestic industry through Plan México, which focuses on industrial parks and public investment projects aimed at stimulating growth in a volatile trade environment.