Foreign Trade, Part I

The purpose of foreign trade law is to promote the competitiveness of the country through norms, principles and institutions that will respond to both normal and emergency situations of foreign trade.

Foreign Trade Entities and Their Jurisdiction

Federal Executive

The Federal Executive will have the power to create, modify or eliminate tariffs as well as to restrict the export or import and movement of products by means of emergency measures published in the Federal Gazette.

The Ministry of Economy in Mexico

The Ministry of Economy in Mexico will study, draft and determine changes in the regulations to the export or import and movement of products as well as negotiate and resolve administrative procedures of unlawful practices of international commerce and impose compensatory quotas and other regulations to foreign trade.

Auxiliary Commissions

The Foreign Trade Commission in Mexico will function as an obligatory consulting organ of the agencies and entities of the Mexican Federal Government and will issue opinions, make revisions, and hold public hearings on matters of foreign trade.

Determination of the Origin of Goods

The determination of the origin of goods is necessary in order to determine the tariff preferences, country of origin marks and compensatory quotas of the goods in question. These determinations, in turn, are considered when establishing changes of tariff classification, national or regional content, and the process of production.

The origin of the goods will be determined in accordance with the rules established by the Ministry of Economy in Mexico or by international agreements to which Mexico is a party (i.e. the NAFTA) and shall be previously submitted for the opinion of the Commission and published in the Federal Gazette. The origin of the goods will be deemed "national" if only one country is involved in the production of such goods, and will be "regional" if more than one country is involved in their production.

Labeling Standards

The Ministry of Economy issued enforcement guidelines to comply with the new labeling standards for consumer goods, prepackaged food and non-alcoholic beverages. Importers have the option to comply with the standards prior to or at the time of importation into Mexico.

If the importer chooses to label its product in Mexico, the importer must ship it to a General Deposit Warehouse, authorized as a verification unit, within 20 days of activating the aleatory selection mechanism at the border. The actual labeling must take place at the Verification Unit where officials will verify and enforce compliance with the appropriate Official Mexican Norm ("NOM") and release the favorable merchandise. The importer must declare in its pedimento that it has chosen this option by including the code provided by customs to identify that the products are being subjected to it. A written, sworn statement must also be attached indicating the name, authorization number and the address of the warehouse where the products are to be labeled. The importer must comply with the given NOM at the warehouse and have not incurred any acts which are sanctionable in Mexico after importation.

NOMs vary according to different products and should be consulted accordingly prior to the introduction of such products into Mexico. Care should be taken to follow the NOMs to avoid delays and/or fines for non-compliance.

Tariff Regulations and Characteristics

The law establishes the types of tariffs to be levied on goods, such as: ad valorem, specific, and mixed. The characteristics of the tariffs are tariff-quota, fixed-tariffs and others as indicated by the Federal Executive.

Non-Tariff Regulations and Restrictions

The law specifies the cases in which the Ministry can establish, with the prior consultation and opinion from the Commission of Foreign Trade, non-tariff regulations and restrictions to the exportation of goods. These regulations and restrictions include licenses, quotas, and country of origin marks in connection with the exporting and importing of goods. In all cases, the importing of products will remain subject to the NOMs.

This text was provided by Santistevan Abogados S.A. de C.V.

Return to top