Mexico imposes tariff on footwear imports

The government of Mexico has announced its intention to impose a tariff of up to 30 per cent on imports of footwear. This is part of a package of measures being introduced to combat what it claims to be unfair competition in the sector.

According to Mexican Finance Secretary Luis Videgaray, all footwear imports will be liable to a customs charge equivalent to 25 to 30 per cent of their declared value. This package of measures is said to nullify a decree that previously had established a programme of phased tariff reductions.

“In recent years, Mexico has carried out an indiscriminate process of opening up its market to imports, including those that enter the country with unjustifiably low prices,” stated Mr Videgaray. “We eliminated benchmark prices and decided unilaterally to begin reducing tariffs, and for industry, from the perspective of industrial policy, that essentially amounted to wishing them good luck,” he added.

As well as suspending the phased tariff reductions, Mr Videgaray said that estimated prices will be re-established for footwear imports. All importers that ship footwear with reported (declared) price at the customs stage lower than the estimated price must cover the duties that arise from the difference.
Among other measures, footwear will only be allowed to be imported through nine customs offices – Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mexico, Guadalajara, Veracruz, Tijuana, the Mexico City International Airport, Ciudad Hidalgo and Nuevo Laredo – rather than the 33 offices prior to the changes.

This new policy has been included in a decree that was recently signed by Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto, details of which were published the official gazette. At the time of SATRA Bulletin going to press, these measures were expected to take full effect by the end of October.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 2 of the October 2014 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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