The Cocex in Mexico: role in foreign trade

The Foreign Trade Commission (Cocex) is a mandatory consultation body for Mexican government agencies in foreign trade matters.

Thus, all measures related to foreign trade, such as the establishment, increase, decrease or elimination of tariffs or tariff preferences, including those decreed by the Executive Branch, must be evaluated and approved by the Cocex prior to their application.

If the Cocex does not approve the measure, the relevant institutions may revise and resubmit it.

Cocex also periodically reviews existing measures, ex officio or at the request of interested parties, to issue non-binding recommendations.

Cocex

The Commission is composed of the Ministry of Economy (SE, who chairs it), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader), the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), the Ministry of Health (SSA); and two autonomous constitutional agencies: the Bank of Mexico and the Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece).

Regarding foreign trade operations, the national technical regulations (Normas Oficiales Mexicanas) do not impose a burden on exports, since such activities will be subject to the rules established by the destination countries.

As for imports of goods, NOMs are designed to mitigate the risk of establishing unnecessary trade measures in accordance with the provisions of the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade of the World Trade Organization (WTO).