1.4 million Chinese products seized!

Emergency warning! 1.4 million Chinese products seized! More Chinese goods or face scrutiny and delays! Mexico's Tax Administration (SAT) announced that in July 2024, more than 1.4 million goods from China were seized in a precautionary manner, with a value of approximately 418 million pesos.

The goods include slippers, sandals, fans, backpacks and so on. The goods entered the national territory without being able to prove their lawful stay. Given the large volume, it may involve one of the major distributors of such goods in the country.

On top of that, SAT has taken various actions so far this year. From January to June 2024, 181 reviews were conducted and goods with an estimated value of P1.6 billion were seized, 62 of which included goods with an estimated value of P1.19 billion for the Marine, machinery, furniture, footwear, electronics, textiles, automotive and other industries.

The remaining 119 inspections included SAT operations on roads that seized goods worth P420 million in the machinery, footwear, clothing, electronics, textiles, toys, automobiles and metalworking industries.

As part of these actions envisaged in the Master Plan 2024, the State Administration of Taxation has set up 91 checkpoints on the country's major highways, where the greatest flow of foreign goods is located, SAT said. This has resulted in a fiscal impact on 53 per cent of the country's territory and the seizure of goods estimated to be worth P2 billion so far in 2024.

With these actions, the State Administration of Taxation reiterates its commitment to eliminate tax evasion, tax avoidance and fraud by strengthening its surveillance actions, with the aim of combating the illegal introduction of goods of foreign origin into the national territory.

According to the Ministry of Commerce website on July 20, Mexico strict import rules for e-commerce and express delivery enterprises.

In April, Mexican President Lopez Obrador signed a decree imposing temporary import duties of 5 to 50 percent on 544 items, including steel, aluminum, textiles, clothing, footwear, wood, plastics and their products.

The decree came into effect on April 23 and is valid for two years. According to the decree, textiles, clothing, footwear and other products will be subject to a temporary import duty of 35%; Round steel with a diameter of less than 14 mm will be subject to a temporary import duty of 50%. Goods imported from regions and countries that have signed trade agreements with Mexico will enjoy preferential tariff treatment if they meet the relevant provisions of the agreements.

According to the Mexican "Economist" reported on July 17, a WTO report released on the 17th showed that Mexico's share of China's total exports in 2023 reached 2.4%, a record high. In the past few years, China's exports to Mexico have been showing a continuous increase.

In this reminder, Chinese enterprises with Mexico as an export market may be affected to a certain extent!