The federal government reported that it authorized Mexican imports under Rule Eight worth 178.85 billion pesos from October 2024 to July 2025.
What is Rule 8a? One of the Complementary Rules of Section II of Article 2 of the General Import and Export Tax Law for the application and interpretation of the Tariff of said Law.
Rule 8a allows imported inputs and parts to be classified under the tariff of the final good to be manufactured in Mexico. This promotes domestic production with tariff advantages.
For example, an automotive assembly plant can import engines by paying the tariff corresponding to finished cars, which may be lower or even zero. This reduces import costs and boosts the competitiveness of strategic industries such as automotive, electronics, and aerospace.
Mexican imports under Rule Eight
The results of the use of this tariff treatment appeared in President Claudia Sheinbaum’s first government report. Under Rule Eight, 1,268 import requests were authorized from October 2024 to July 2025.
The total value was 178.85 billion pesos. Of this amount, 80% corresponded to the automotive and auto parts industry. Another 7.4% went to electrical products, 8.7% to electronics, 3.1% to heavy industries, and 0.8% to transportation.
During the same period, light industries imported inputs worth 9.241 billion pesos. These were goods not produced in Mexico or insufficient in the domestic market. Furthermore, they came from countries without free trade agreements.
Production costs
The mechanism helped diversify supply and reduce production costs. As a result, productivity and competitiveness improved in sectors such as agribusiness, textiles, toys, bicycles, furniture, chemicals, plastics, and medical devices. The main suppliers were China, India, Brazil, Turkey, and Vietnam, among others.
Rule Eight was created as a mechanism to support domestic industry. Initially, its application focused on strategic sectors such as automotive and electronics. However, over time, its scope has expanded.
Today, it also benefits less expected industries, such as toys and furniture. These companies import parts and raw materials under this scheme to reduce costs. In this way, they manage to remain competitive in the face of pressure from Chinese products and maintain their market share.