Mexican Customs Law outlines two types of exportation: definitive export, when Mexican goods are shipped to another country in order to remain there for an unlimited amount of time; temporary export, when Mexican goods are shipped to another country for a limited amount of time and for a specific purpose.
The persons who would like to export merchandise from Mexico must comply with the following regulations:
Verify he or she is registered in the Federal Register of Taxpayers.
Register in the Register of Sectoral Exporters only for certain sectors, including alcohol, tobacco, flavoured drinks, fossil fuels and pesticides.
Hire the services of a dealer or a customs agent to prepare the administration procedures by proxy.
Comply with conditions and customs regulations established by the General Legislation of Taxes on Exports.
Customs declaration must contain information regarding the merchandise: its origin, its components, its unit and global value, custom fees and information about the export agent and consignment receiver. The document containing this information is called a 'pedimento' (requisition) and must be requested to the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit by the agent or by the customs representative. Then, it must be presented at the customs office in order to pay the processing rights' fees.
You will also need the following:
Commercial invoice for the products
Registry of Exporters by Industry (this is only necessary if the goods are alcoholic beverages, energy drinks, cigarettes, or iron ore)
Certificate of origin
Packing list, identifying the contents and type of goods
Transportation documents: air waybill or bill of lading or consignment note
Insurance policy
Documents proving compliance with non-tariff measures, both in Mexico and the destination market
Country of Origin Marking
Industrial property registry and trademarks
Letter of instruction to the customs broker
Customs documents (this step should be completed by your customs broker in order to clear the goods).
Restrictions
The following items are prohibited or restricted: narcotics, live fish, predators of any size, images representing children in a degrading or ridiculous way, used clothes that are not part of your personal luggage, firearms and ammunitions and electronic cigarettes (as of February 2020).
Export Taxes
Visit the Tributary Administration site to find out if there is an export tax fee for your product.
Industrial and Manufacturing Profile
Type of Production
For the resources for businesses on managing the manufacturing and the supply chain risk due to the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic, please consult the report COVID-19: Managing supply chain risk and disruption (Deloitte Canada, 2020), as well as the insights on COVID-19: How to fortify your supply chain (Kearney, 2020). The World Economic Forum's COVID Action Platform provides useful information on the latest strategic trends regarding COVID-19 implications for businesses, including manufacturing and supply systems. The report Outbreak Readiness and Business Impact (World Economic Forum in collaboration with the Harvard Global Health Institute) offers insights on handling coronavirus by businesses and strategies for effective response and resilience.
Industrial activities constitute 30.1% of Mexico's GDP and about 90% of its exports. The food, automobile and electronics industries are particularly strong. Thanks to tax reductions in USMCA and incentives by the Mexican Ministry of Economy, maquiladoras (or assembly plants) play an important role in the manufacturing sector, accounting for approximately 80% of production.
Associations of the Main Industry Sectors
54 professional associations listed for Mexico.
Type of Manufacturers
Original Equipment Manufacturers
OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in Mexico are generally auto part manufacturers due to Mexico's vehicle production working to satisfy great demand. However, production has decreased since the arrival of many new imported vehicle models.
Subcontractors
The subcontractor model in Mexico has increased since it was implemented, first in ´maquiladoras´ and later in multinational enterprises. The government has supported this model by establishing the Subcontractor Industry System. Cases where benefits are not paid to workers are common. Turnover is high, which leads to a general lack of productivity.
Transportation-logistic services are expensive in Mexico. The logistics network consists of 117 seaports, 393,471 kilometers of roads, 27,000 kilometers of railway lines, 76 airports, 46 customs points, and 66 intermodal terminals. Mexico has a modern highway system, primarily comprised of toll roads connecting the main industrial areas located in the Mexico City-Guadalajara-Monterrey triangle. Outside this area, road transportation is fair, although the Government has enacted a programme to improve Mexico’s infrastructure. Maritime international trade goes through the ports of Manzanillo (handling over three million TEUs in cargo in 2019), Lazaro Cardenas, Veracruz, Altamira and Ensenada. All these ports have the high quality infrastructure and equipment to facilitate intermodal, door-to-door merchandise transportation. The railway is mostly used for transporting large volumes of goods to the main ports and borders. Air transport of goods is not as popular due to the lack of infrastructure and the price of fuel.