Textile Industry in Mexico Tariff Increase and Ban on IMMEX Industry (Maquiladora)
The article discusses the Mexican government's 2024 measures for the textile industry: tariff increases, import bans under IMMEX, and their impact on suppliers, consumer prices, inflation, and smuggling.
A.A Javier Cortés Romano
12/20/20241 min read
The practicalities of the Mexican government's new measure related to the textile and apparel industry in December 2024 should be analyzed, consisting of: (i) a 15% tariff increase to 17 tariff fractions of inputs and semi-finished textiles and 35% for 138 tariff fractions of apparel effective until April 2026 (these tariffs do not apply to countries with which Mexico has signed free trade agreements), and (ii) the prohibition to import under the IMMEX program (Mexican maquiladora) 302 tariff fractions of the textile industry in chapters 61, 62, 63 of the LIGIE Tariff:
Both the temporary import ban and the tariff increase require that textile manufacturers and distributors must look for suppliers in Mexico or in countries with which Mexico has signed free trade agreements.
Therefore, tariff calculations specified in USMCA Article 2.5 and their equivalents with European countries, are impacted by this increase in tariffs.
Establishing an import ban under IMMEX on all 302 items is an acknowledgement of the Mexican government's inability to properly and thoroughly audit the maquiladora textile industry located in Mexico.
Considering that several Mexican textile manufacturers are also stakeholders of IMMEX companies and also traders within Mexico in the same textile sector, audit and control efforts should be focused on these related companies.
Increase and prohibition of imports in the textile sector may affect the price of textile products for Mexican consumers, which in turn may affect the inflation index and, regrettably, increase the flow of textiles (primary materials, intermediate products, and final products) that are smuggled trough Mexican customs points of entry.
