ANAM, VUCEM and MFN tariff in Mexico

Since 2022, customs clearance in Mexico for the import and export of goods has been carried out before the Mexican National Customs Agency (ANAM).

Despite the institutional change, the requirements for importing and exporting, as well as the procedures for determining the customs value of imported goods, have not undergone substantial changes since 2017.

ANAM

However, since then, Mexico has continued to implement measures to facilitate trade, such as electronic customs clearance (paperless customs), the use of consolidated pedimentos, and the improvement of the Mexican Foreign Trade Single Window (Ventanilla Única de Comercio Exterior Mexicano, VUCEM).

During the last four years, the most important change in the customs area was the creation in 2021 of the ANAM, which replaced the General Customs Administration (AGA).

Tariffs

Also during this period, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO), there was a significant reduction in the number of tariff lines in Mexico.

In 2016, the Mexican Arancel contained 12,275 tariff lines at the 8-digit level of the 2012 HS, while in 2021 this number was reduced to 7,802 lines at the 8-digit level of the 2017 Harmonized System.

However, the MFN Tariff structure has not undergone substantial changes.

Mexico mostly uses ad valorem tariffs, with the exception of 45 tariff lines for which it uses compound or specific tariffs; both types continue to apply to the same category of products as in 2016.

In addition, Mexico employs seasonal tariffs for three tariff lines.

The average applied MFN tariffs increased from 5.5% in 2016 to 6.7% in 2021.

Despite the increase in the average tariff, the protection accorded to agricultural products (WTO definition) decreased from 14.3% in 2016 to 13.2% in 2021.

Non-agricultural products, as in 2016, are subject to a lower average tariff than agricultural products, although during the referred period it increased from 4.6% to 5.9%.