Mexico - Trade Barriers

Trade Barriers

Last published date: 2023-11-05

Under the United States‑Mexico‑Canada Agreement (USMCA), there are virtually no tariff barriers for U.S. exports to Mexico, with some exceptions as noted elsewhere in this guide. The USMCA entered into force on July 1, 2020.

On May 17, 2019, the United States announced an agreement with Canada and Mexico to remove the Section 232 tariffs for steel and aluminum imports from those countries and for the removal of all retaliatory tariffs imposed on American goods by Canada and Mexico. The agreement provides for aggressive monitoring and a mechanism to prevent surges in imports of steel and aluminum. If surges in imports of specific steel and aluminum products occur, the United States may re-impose Section 232 tariffs on those products. Any retaliation by Canada and Mexico would then be limited to steel and aluminum products.

Carta Porte

The Government of Mexico (GOM) introduced new invoicing methods and obligations under the name Complemento Carta Porte (Carta Porte).

The new rules under Carta Porte will affect U.S. companies exporting via door-to-door services, Mexican owners of goods, transportation companies, and freight forwarders. This requirement will be applied to all importation and exportation of goods in transit within Mexican territory.

The GOM intends through this requirement to receive information in advance about all goods in transit (air, sea, train road, and others) throughout the Mexican territory. The stated main purpose is to combat contraband and impose taxes on the informal economy through transportation services.

Under this expanded requirement, the GOM will request information including, but not limited to:

Goods that will be moved throughout the Mexican territory
Shipper/receiver information;
Specific information about the shipper and receiver locations
Information about the means of transportation
Information about the driver in the case of road transportation

We strongly recommend U.S. exporters maintain close contact with their Mexican clients and partners to be aware of the legal, tax, and customs implications of this update. There is still a lack of clarification on requirements for compliance, and published guidance by the Mexican authorities may be hard to interpret. However, failure to comply with issuing the updated invoicing CFDI/Complemento Carta Porte with the bill of lading information will trigger fines and may result in shutdowns of the Mexican companies involved for three to 15 business days.

Be aware that this information is based on public information issued by the Mexican Tax Authority, and it may be subject to change at any moment. The U.S. Commercial Service in Mexico can assist U.S. exporters in resolving customs-related issues.

After its entry into force on January 1, 2022, the GOM extended the Carta Porte enforcement date several times. August 1, 2023, is the new mandatory compliance date for this requirement. Note that the Carta Porte requirement applies only to Mexican entities with a Mexican Tax ID and does not directly apply to U.S. companies or exporters.

For detailed information (in Spanish), please visit the GOM’s Complemento Carta Porte - Frequently Asked Questions.

Import Licenses

This section deals with licenses for sensitive products. For general import requirements, see the section of this guide on Import Requirements & Documentation and the section on Prohibited & Restricted Imports.

Certain sensitive products entering Mexico must obtain an import license, for which the difficulty varies according to the nature of the product. Periodically, the GOM publishes lists that identify the different items that have a specific import control. Items are identified according to their Harmonized System (HS) code number; therefore, it is important that U.S. exporters have their products correctly classified. United States exporters are encouraged to check with customs brokers as to the accurate classification of their products.

The Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional or SEDENA) requires an authorization to import guns, arms, munitions, explosives, and defense equipment, as well as special military vehicles (new or used). This would be in addition to the export license required by U.S. export controls.

The Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural or SADER) requires the Zoo-Sanitary Requirements Form (Hoja de Requisitos Zoo-Sanitarios), which acts as an import permit prior to import authorization for some leather and fur products, and fresh/chilled and frozen meat. Agricultural machinery does not require approval from SADER.

The Secretariat of Health (Secretaría de Salud or SSA), through its Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks (Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios or COFEPRIS), requires either an “advance sanitary import authorization” or “notification of sanitary import” for medical products and equipment, pharmaceuticals, diagnostic products, toiletries, processed food, and certain chemicals. Food supplements and herbal products are highly regulated in Mexico, unlike in the United States.

The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales or SEMARNAT) requires import authorizations for products made from endangered species, such as certain eggs, ivory, certain types of wood, and furs.

Toxic and hazardous products require an import authorization from an interagency commission called the Intersecretarial Commission for Process Control and Use of Pesticides, Fertilizers, and Toxic Substances (Comisión Intersecretarial para el Control del Proceso y Uso de Plaguicidas, Fertilizantes y Sustancias Tóxicas or CICOPLAFEST), which has representation from the four agencies mentioned above (SEDENA, SADER, SSA, and SEMARNAT). This list includes many organic and inorganic chemicals.

Commercial samples of controlled products shipped by courier are also subject to these regulations. Liquid, gas, gels, and powdered products cannot be shipped by courier, even in small quantities. Instead, these products must be shipped as a regular shipment by a customs broker. Some special treatment may apply in the case of samples intended for research, product registration, or certification. Unless returned at the sender’s expense, Customs often confiscates or destroys samples lacking the proper documentation.

A resolution published in the Mexico’s Federal Gazette (Diaro Oficial or DOF) on January 26, 2009, abolished minimum estimated prices, also referred to as “reference prices”, in all industries except for used cars and textiles.

Several measures regulating Mexican textile importers also collaterally affect other U.S. exporters. These measures include an importer registry, the establishment of reference prices (though they should not be applied to products imported by Mexican companies certified as Authorized Economic Operators/Operador Económico Autorizado or OEA). Importers of textiles and apparel products must be registered in the Official Registry No.11 for textile/apparel sector. The instructions to register can be found in the Guide to Textile Sector Production (http://www.siicex.gob.mx/portalSiicex/PEXIM/Textiles/Archivos/GuiaSectorTextilConfeccion.pdf)..

Used Vehicles

In March 2019, the GOM issued a decree outlining new requirements for used vehicles that included the following provisions:

A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN, or NIV) along with a visible digital picture
Confirmation that the vehicle was manufactured in the United States, Mexico, or Canada
The use of a customs agent affiliated with the customs house of entry of the vehicle
The bill of lading for permanent importation for each vehicle
An invoice stamped “shipper export” by U.S. Customs
The RFC (the Mexican federal tax identification number), CURP (the identity number), and INE (the voter registration number) of the importer
Proof of address of the Mexican importer including postal code
Proof of payment of the IGI (Impuesto General de Importación or General Import Tax)
Compliance with Mexican standard vehicle categories
Payment of the 10 percent ad-valorem tax (one percent for the border zone) based on a minimum estimated price or “reference price”

This estimated reference price is determined based on the vehicle’s year, make, and model. Importers of used vehicles must post a guarantee or bond representing the difference between the duties and taxes if the declared customs value is less than the established reference price. The importer must show payment of the IVA (16 percent value-added tax), the ISAN (vehicle’s acquisition tax) listed in the bill of lading, and the one or 10 percent ad-valorem tax based on the minimum estimated price. Used vehicles destined for the border zone are allowed if they are not older than nine years. If they are less than 10 years old, they are assessed a one percent ad-valorem tax. Those older than 10 years are subject to a 10 percent ad-valorem tax. Used vehicles aged five to nine years old are permitted in the rest of Mexico for resale. Used vehicles that are prohibited from circulating in their own country of origin cannot be imported into Mexico. These requirements and regulations are in effect through September 30, 2024, or until further notice. For more information please see the Market Report-Regulations for the Importation of Used Vehicles.

Steel

United States exports of steel products to Mexico are free of duty; however, U.S. exporters should be aware of administrative procedures their buyers should follow before shipping the goods. Since 2014, Mexican Customs has been requiring more information on steel products in its effort to process legitimate shipments of steel from the United States. Mexican importers are now required to present detailed material information prior to the shipment’s arrival in customs.

United States exporters should provide their Mexican client with either a mill test report or a material quality certificate from the steel mill from which the raw material was sourced. This is independent of whether the products are secondary or tertiary (e.g., screws made of steel bar are tertiary since the bar itself is a secondary product from the mill). Tertiary producers must request the test report from their secondary producers who in turn get the report from the mill.

It is the Mexican importer’s responsibility to issue their automatic notification (aviso automático) through the one-stop online import/export system single window (ventanilla única or VUCEM) at least five days before the goods arrive in Mexican Customs, or shipments will face delays. Thus, we advise U.S. exporters to send all necessary paperwork related to the steel export, the mill test report, or the mill quality certificate, as well as the commercial invoice to the Mexican importer in advance.

In January 2017, due to changes in Mexican Customs law, Mexican importers —in addition to being an authorized entity to import— must be registered in the Sectoral Promotion Programs (Programas de Promoción Sectorial or PROSEC) for the steel industry.

In 2020, the Secretariat of Economy (Secretaría de Economía or SE) stated that aviso automático will be required only on steel products intended for definite importation into Mexico. The list of steel products subject to this procedure includes 165 different HS codes including seamed and seamless pipe, cold rolled and hot rolled steel plate, steel slab, steel bars, and wire rod. As of March 2021, imports of seamed carbon steel pipe from the United States are charged fees derived from an antidumping case in Mexico.

On October 10, 2022, the GOM updated its import regulations eliminating the Steel Mill and Quality certification as a mandatory requirement to comply with Mexican imports compliance processes. The official update can be found in the Mexican Official Gazette at the following link: https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle