South Korea’s share of Mexico’s vehicle-parts imports will fall from 6.3% to below 5.0% in 2027, risking also some US market access.

On October 6 President Lee Jae-myung ordered a restart to the CPTPP review from scratch. This costs Seoul its only multilateral route to Mexican tariff relief, and Korean car-parts exporters are most exposed because CPTPP member Mexico has taxed non-FTA parts at 15% to 35% since January. Hyundai Wia is particularly vulnerable as South Korea’s largest exporter of engine parts to Mexico. With the duties remaining in place, Korean suppliers will lose orders to producers in countries with Mexican trade agreements and to U.S. and Japanese manufacturers already operating inside Mexico. That will push Korean parts makers to localise more production in Mexico or risk access to the lucrative U.S. market as Washington presses for higher North American content in the USMCA review.