Mexico: Buying

In this page: Customs Procedures | Industrial and Manufacturing Profile | Identifying a Supplier | Organizing Goods Transport To and From Mexico

Customs Procedures

Export Clearance

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.
Pay the customs duty taxes, if applicable.

For more information visit Mexican Customs site.

Necessary Declaration

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: 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.

Professional Associations by Sector: 51 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.
Useful Resources: National Confederate Chamber of Industry

Identifying a Supplier

Business Directories

Multi-sector Directories: All.biz - Mexico - Directory of companies
Boletín Industrial - Database of companies, products and services.
Cosmos Online - Mexico's business directory
Directorio Comercio - Business directory in Mexico, categorized by product
Directorio de Empresas - Guide of companies, industries and services in Mexico
Directorio Industriales - Business directory in Mexico.
Directorio.com.mx - Business directory in Mexico
Dun & Bradstreet - Worldwide directory with financial information on businesses
Mexico online directory - Directory of businesses in Mexico
MexSearch - Business directory by category.
Paginas Amarillas - Mexico's Yellow Pages
Planeta México - A search engine for companies in Mexico
Rim - Business directory in Mexico.

To search directories by industry in Mexico, check out our service Business Directories.

Marketplaces

Marketplaces incorporated in the country: Cosmos Online
Quiminet

To go further, check out our service Online Marketplaces.

Other Useful Resources

Trade Agencies and Their Representations Abroad: French-Mexican Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Chamber of Commerce of Mexico City
ProMéxico - Mexico Investing Guide
Fairs and Trade Shows: International Trade Fairs

To go further, check out our service Trade Shows.

Organizing Goods Transport To and From Mexico

Main Useful Means of Transport: 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.

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Mexico: Buying

Customs Procedures

Industrial and Manufacturing Profile

Type of Manufacturers

Identifying a Supplier

Business Directories

Marketplaces

Other Useful Resources

Organizing Goods Transport To and From Mexico

By Sea

By Air

By Road

By Rail