The following article, Tariff Heresy Goes South: Mexico Borrows Trump’s Playbook and Smacks China, was first published on The Black Sphere.

Who said tariffs were bad? Actually nobody. Not really. Not until President Trump started using them.

President Trump recognized the blunt instrument of the American economy–the biggest in the world by far–and he used it as a blunt instrument to fix trade imbalances, rebuild domestic industry, and stop America from being the global doormat left behind by the Obama and Biden administrations. Only then did tariffs magically become “dangerous,” “outdated,” and “economic arson,” according to the same people who haven’t balanced a checkbook since AOL dial-up.

Enter Mexico, Stage Right:

Our neighbor to the south strolled onto the world stage with a tariff hammer, and suddenly the script flips. According to this report, Mexico just hit China with tariffs as high as 50 percent on a staggering number of products.

Mexico’s Senate approved a new tariff bill Thursday that includes tariffs as high as 50 percent on 1,463 China-made products like steel, cars and textiles, apparel and footwear.

That’s not a tweak around the edges. That’s a full-body shove. And the decision was practically unanimous.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the decision following an endorsement from the Chamber of Deputies and a Senate vote that saw 76 ayes, five nays and 35 abstentions. When politicians who normally argue about the color of the sky suddenly agree, something big is happening.

What has the fake news media said of Mexico’s announcement? No breathless warnings about inflationary doom, and no lectures about free trade purity. Just a leftist government doing exactly what Trump did and pretending it was part of the plan all along. But Sheinbaum knows this is a Trump move.

“We want Plan Mexico to be fulfilled without causing a problem for the national economy, and within that framework Congress approved these tariffs,” she told reporters, noting that, “They are aimed at countries with which Mexico does not have a trade agreement. It is not about restricting trade between nations.”

That’s right. Not restricting trade. Just protecting your own economy.

Funny how that logic was considered economic blasphemy when Trump said it, but pragmatic realism when a leftist says it in Spanish.

And then came the real tell. Sheinbaum did the unthinkable. She talked about revenue.

Taking a page straight out of President Trump’s playbook, Sheinbaum explained how much revenue is expected from tariffs, estimating that the new duties could bring in substantial revenue, to the tune of about $2.8 billion, over the course of the coming year.

Remember when Democrats mocked Trump for saying tariffs bring in money?

Remember when they insisted Americans would pay every penny and nothing would come back to the government? Mexico apparently didn’t get that memo. Or maybe they did, and filed it where it belongs.

But what is Sheinbaum’s real goal? She wants to shield domestic production from the market impacts of foreign influence. In plain English, she wants to stop China from flooding Mexico with cheap goods that strangle local manufacturers in their cribs.

Because President Trump has been so vocal about China’s predatory practices, he’s raised awareness among other countries. When the world’s largest economy finally says “enough,” smaller economies start doing the math. And the math is ugly if you’re competing against a nation that subsidizes everything, steals intellectual property, manipulates currency, and treats environmental rules like optional suggestions.

In Mexico’s case, China’s tactics have been devastating. Chinese imports into Mexico have nearly doubled over the past 10 years to $130 billion, according to data from the Council on Foreign Relations. By contrast, Mexico exports just under $10 billion to China.

That’s not trade. That’s extraction. And Mexico doesn’t even have a trade treaty with China that would begin to address the imbalance.

Sheinbaum, to her credit, didn’t bother pretending this was about climate justice or global harmony. She kept it real.

“Our interest is not to create conflict with any country. We have a good relationship with China and we respect them. The reason for these adjustments to the law has to do with strengthening the national economy. The goal is to keep the dialogue going.”

Translation: We’re done being played, but we’ll smile while we lock the door to our economy.

Democrats in America should be choking on their own talking points.

For years, they treated Trump’s tariffs like economic malpractice. They warned of trade wars, empty shelves, and apocalypse-level consequences. Yet here’s a leftist Mexican president using tariffs for the exact same reasons Trump did, and suddenly it’s “strategic,” “measured,” and “responsible.”

The reason for the adjustments is common sense. That’s it. No ideology required. No economic voodoo. Just the basic understanding that if you allow a hostile trade partner to dominate your market, you eventually hollow out your own country.

And while other nations’ leaders hesitate to credit President Trump publicly, they are certainly following in his footsteps. Nobody wants to admit the guy they called reckless was actually right. But actions don’t lie, even when politicians do.

Because the alternative is bowing to China. Becoming dependent. Becoming weak. Becoming irrelevant.

I expect other nations to follow suit.

The dam has cracked. Once one country shows tariffs can protect domestic industry without collapsing civilization, the excuses evaporate. Even better, Sheinbaum is a total Leftist. Which means Democrats can’t dismiss this as right-wing nationalism or MAGA economics. One of their own just validated Trump’s entire argument.

And there’s another layer here that makes this move unavoidable. With President Trump’s war on the cartels, Mexico will be forced to shift its economy away from drugs. That money has to come from somewhere. Building domestic industry beats laundering narco-cash every time, at least if you want a functioning country.

So what will Democrats say now? That tariffs are bad when Americans use them, but brilliant when Mexicans do? That protecting workers is immoral unless it’s happening south of the border? They’ve painted themselves into a corner with cheap brushes and cheaper slogans.

Mexico didn’t just hit China with tariffs. It hit Democrats with reality. And reality, unlike talking points, doesn’t care who it embarrasses.

Continue reading Tariff Heresy Goes South: Mexico Borrows Trump’s Playbook and Smacks China …