A regulatory change in the General Foreign Trade Rules (RGCE), effective October 15, 2024, eliminated the use of generic Federal Taxpayer Registry (RFC) numbers for simplified import procedures. Courier and express delivery companies must now obtain and store the specific RFC of each recipient for shipments valued under USD 2,500, increasing administrative and logistical burdens for U.S. exporters, particularly small and medium-sized businesses. Restrictions limiting certain goods to specific ports of entry further constrain cross-border eCommerce and express shipments.

Carta Porte

The Complemento Carta Porte (CCP)/Bill of Lading Complement is a digital document attached to the Digital Tax Receipt by Internet (CFDI) in Mexico. Its purpose is to register detailed information about the movement of goods within the country, including data on the carrier, origin, destination, and the goods themselves. Since its digital implementation in 2021, the CCP’s purpose has been to combat contraband and tax evasion by improving the traceability of goods. The rollout faced initial challenges for Mexican companies, particularly small carriers needing a digital transformation, and U.S. exporters adapting to the new documentation requirements. The document is required to certify the legal possession and transfer of merchandise. It is not an import tariff, but rather an administrative and operational requirement. The omission or incorrect completion of this document can lead to significant fines, a possible presumption of contraband, and potential delays in customs clearance or delivery. 

For 2025, the CCP no longer suffers the higher levels of operational problems of the past, with most initial challenges resolved due to updates and transition periods. Most large Mexican companies have completed the implementation process and, as a result, delays and issues have decreased. However, challenges persist for small and medium-sized businesses and independent carriers that face technological limitations or whose operations require route flexibility. The main source of issues has shifted from a lack of knowledge to the operational complexity of the system and the need for coordination among multiple parties in the supply chain.

Automatic Import Notice for Steel/Avisos Automáticos para Productos Siderúrgicos (AAIPS)
Mexico requires an Automatic Import Notice for imports of iron and steel classified in chapters 72 and 73 of the Law of General Import and Export Taxes. The Secretariat of Economy administers the process through VUCEM, the Mexican Single Window for Foreign Trade, and the legal basis is found in Mexican Foreign Trade Rules, as amended on April 15, 2024. The stated purpose is to monitor trade flows and address undervaluation, contraband, and dumping. The measure is a non-tariff administrative requirement and does not change duty rates or replace tariff policy.
Mexico’s rules indicate a five-business day target when filings are complete, yet processing can extend to several additional days when applications contain inconsistencies or when volumes are high. The reinstatement of Section 232 tariffs by the United States in 2025 is not the legal basis of the notice, but it has led to closer attention to origin data such as the country where the steel was melted and poured. The Secretariat of Economy released guidance and held webinars with reviewing officers, which helped clear pending notices, including cases that had remained in queue for up to fifty days.

Importers submit the notice through VUCEM and attach a mill certificate or a quality certificate depending on the tariff heading. Certificates must include the technical description, chemical composition when applicable, heat or casting number, producer identification, certificate number and date, total kilograms, and the country where the steel was melted and poured, and they must be consistent with the application. When certificates are not in Spanish, the importer must provide a translation. Certificates cannot be post-dated and may be up to three years old. A mill certificate is a technical document issued by the steel mill producer and includes the chemical composition, mechanical properties, and the heat number. The manufacturer that transformed the steel must issue a quality certificate certifying that the product meets technical standards; it does not require mill specific information, but it must include the heat number. A Carta Responsiva (Letter of Responsibility) is not required in the initial filing, but it is used to remedy a rejection of the automatic notice, and the importer uses it to address inconsistencies in the mill or quality certificates such as illegible seals or signatures.

Coverage is limited to iron and steel. Aluminum classified in chapter 76 is not included in the Law of General Import and Export Taxes. A mill certificate is required for headings 7206 to 7216, 7218 to 7228, and 7304. A quality certificate is required for headings 7202, 7217, 7229, 7301, 7302, and 7305 to 7317. As of April 2024, the program covers 146 tariff fractions within chapters 72 and 73, including 72 fractions added in the April 2024 amendment.
Confirm HS coverage in chapters 72 and 73, secure complete mill or quality certificates with heat number and melted and poured and Spanish translations, file early in VUCEM and track the folio, use a Carta Responsiva to cure defects, and monitor Secretariat of Economy and U.S. Commercial Service notices for process changes.

Confirm HS coverage in chapters 72 and 73, secure complete mill or quality certificates with heat number and melted and poured and Spanish translations, file early in VUCEM and track the folio, use a Carta Responsiva to cure defects, and monitor Secretariat of Economy and U.S. Commercial Service notices for process changes.

Import Licenses

This section deals with licenses for sensitive products. For general import requirements, see the section of this guide on Import Requirements and Documentation and the section on Prohibited and Restricted Imports. Mexican import licenses are prior authorizations required for specific regulated products, including arms and explosives, chemical precursors and hazardous substances, health related goods, and CITES listed wildlife products. The issuing authority depends on the HS classification and the applicable regulation. The Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) issues import permits for arms, ammunition, explosives, pyrotechnics, and certain chemicals. The Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) issues sanitary import permits for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and related inputs, under the Secretariat of Health. The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), through its General Directorate for Wildlife (DGVS), issues CITES permits and authorizations for wildlife and wildlife derivatives. CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international treaty that regulates cross border trade in listed species through a system of permits to ensure it does not threaten their survival. The inter secretarial framework known as CICOPLAFEST is the Inter Secretariat Commission for the Control of Pesticides, Fertilizers, and Toxic Substances, which defines substances and products subject to non-tariff controls in coordination with health, environment, defense, and agriculture authorities.

Commercial samples of controlled products shipped by courier remain subject to these requirements. Under the courier rule, goods that are difficult to identify due to their presentation, such as powders, liquids, or pharmaceutical forms that require physical or chemical analysis, cannot use the simplified express consignment procedure regardless of value. Such shipments must follow the standard import process. Shipments that lack required permits may be subject to precautionary seizure and administrative proceedings under the Customs Law.

Mexico continues to operate the estimated price mechanism for certain goods to address undervaluation. The lists were updated in May and June 2025. Sector specific controls also apply, including Sector 11 for textiles and apparel in the Importers Registry of Specific Sectors set out in Annex 10 of the General Rules of Foreign Trade 2025.
Several measures regulating Mexican textile importers also collaterally affect other U.S. exporters. These measures include an importer registry, the establishment of reference prices (though they should not be applied to products imported by Mexican companies certified as Authorized Economic Operators/Operador Económico Autorizado or OEA). Importers of textiles and apparel products must be registered in the Official Registry No.11 for textile/apparel sector. The instructions to register can be found in the Guide to Textile Sector Production (http://www.siicex.gob.mx/portalSiicex/PEXIM/Textiles/Archivos/GuiaSectorTextilConfeccion.pdf).
 

Used Vehicles

In March 2019, the Government of Mexico (GOM) issued a decree outlining new requirements for used vehicles that included the following provisions:

• A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN or NIV) along with a visible digital picture
• Confirmation that the vehicle was manufactured in the United States, Mexico, or Canada
• The use of a customs agent affiliated with the customs house of entry of the vehicle
• The bill of lading for permanent importation for each vehicle
• An invoice stamped “shipper export” by U.S. Customs
• The RFC (the Mexican federal tax identification number), CURP (the identity number), and INE (the voter registration number) of the importer
• Proof of address of the Mexican importer including postal code
• Proof of payment of the IGI (Impuesto General de Importación or General Import Tax)
• Compliance with Mexican standard vehicle categories
• Payment of the 10 percent ad-valorem tax (one percent for the border zone) based on a minimum estimated price or “reference price”

This estimated reference price is determined based on the vehicle’s year, make, and model. Importers of used vehicles must post a guarantee or bond representing the difference between the duties and taxes if the declared customs value is less than the established reference price. The importer must show payment of the IVA (16 percent value-added tax), the ISAN (vehicle’s acquisition tax) listed in the bill of lading, and the one or 10 percent ad-valorem tax based on the minimum estimated price. Used vehicles destined for the border zone are allowed if they are not older than nine years. If they are less than 10 years old, they are assessed a one percent ad-valorem tax. Those older than 10 years are subject to a 10 percent ad-valorem tax. Used vehicles aged five to nine years old are permitted in the rest of Mexico for resale. Used vehicles that are prohibited from circulating in their own country of origin cannot be imported into Mexico. These requirements and regulations are in effect through September 30, 2024, or until further notice. For more information please see the Market Report-Regulations for the Importation of Used Vehicles. 
 

Steel

USMCA Duty Benefits and Compensatory Duties

United States origin steel exports to Mexico enter at zero duty when they qualify under USMCA rules of origin. Compensatory duties (antidumping and countervailing) may coexist when applicable.
Automatic Import Notice Requirement: Mexican importers must obtain an Automatic Import Notice for steel goods in chapters 72 and 73 through VUCEM, Mexico’s Single Window for Foreign Trade, before customs clearance. More details can be found at the beginning of this section.

Certification Requirements

U.S. exporters should provide their Mexican buyer with a mill test report or a material quality certificate issued by the mill that produced the raw steel. This applies whether the goods are secondary or tertiary products. Tertiary producers obtain the report from their secondary supplier, who in turn obtains it from the mill. As of April 15, 2024, the Secretariat of Economy reinstated the obligation to attach a mill certificate or a quality certificate to the Automatic Import Notice, with minimum required content. Certificates must align with the application data, include the heat number and required technical fields, be translated into Spanish when applicable, and not be dated after the application; certificates up to three years old are accepted. Filings and attachments are submitted through VUCEM.

Countervailing and Antidumping Duties

As of August 2025, definitive countervailing and antidumping duties remain in effect for imports of carbon steel pipe with straight longitudinal seam from the United States, classified under TIGIE tariff codes 7305.11.02 and 7305.12.91 (TIGIE is Mexico’s Tariff of the General Import and Export Duties Law). No additional antidumping duties have been identified for other steel products from the United States as of this date.

Trade Barrier Contacts

For more information and help with trade barriers please contact:

Lauren Coughlin
Regional Standards Attaché
U.S. Commercial Service Mexico City 
Tel.: +52 (55) 5080-2182
Lauren.Coughlin@trade.gov

Sylvia Montaño
Commercial Specialist
U.S. Commercial Service Mexico City
Tel.: +52 (55) 5080-2000 ext. 5219 
Sylvia.Montano@trade.gov

Manuel “Manny” Velazquez
Trade Facilitation and Customs Specialist
U.S. Commercial Service Monterrey 
Tel.: +52 (81) 8047-3248
Manuel.Velazquez@trade.gov 
 
International Trade Administration
Enforcement and Compliance
Tel.: +1 (202) 482-0063
tanc@trade.gov

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