Some of the major tariff changes for e-commerce that could take effect in January include Mexico eliminating its minimum threshold for imports from all countries except the United States and Canada. (Photo: Jim Allen/Freight Waves)
Borderlands is a weekly digest of developments in the world of U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Mexican government aims to regulate Asian e-commerce imports; Emerson Electric plans $22.5 million plant in Chihuahua; Chinese company plans $20 million machinery factory in Leon, Mexico; And an investment company is building a logistics center in Laredo, Texas.
The Mexican government plans to impose new customs regulations affecting e-commerce imports into the country starting in January.
The requirements — which include additional documentation and more detailed product information for cross-border transactions — are intended to reduce tax fraud, smuggling and other violations.
According to Carlos Barbosa, Vice President of E-Commerce Solutions for… Global EmailThe changes are already affecting importers and parcel and courier providers in Mexico.
Headquartered in Cypress, California, ePost Global is a technology-driven global shipping solutions provider. The company has facilities in Chicago, New Jersey, Miami and Los Angeles.
“There is an influx of brands from China, cheap stuff, low cost, low value, stuff,” Barbosa told FreightWaves in an interview. “A lot of these shippers, or people who are bringing things into Mexico, are abusing the system.”
The e-commerce customs regulations, which will take effect in January, are separate from a Dec. 19 decree issued by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that aims to crack down on e-commerce. Ecommerce sellers who go above and beyond.
Sheinbaum’s measure took effect immediately and is part of Mexico’s broader technology strategies focused on protecting the country’s domestic industries.
E-commerce customs regulations that will come into effect in January will affect the import of everything from clothing, home decor, jewellery, kitchen utensils, toys and electronics.
“Mexico has a threshold of $50, where there are no duties or taxes, that is the minimum,” Barbosa said. “This year, there has been a huge influx in the volume of things under $50. The Mexican authorities are starting to find out if this is really under $50? Are they declaring the actual value? So the government is tightening controls.”
E-commerce customs regulations include a detailed description of each import, such as item type, quantity, quality, and the recipient’s tax identification number in Mexico.
The new regulations were introduced earlier this year and initially came into force in October, but could be amended in January. An increase in customs paperwork has caused a large backlog of packages awaiting customs clearance in Mexico, prompting authorities to postpone implementation of the regulations until January.
“It was October when they first tried to implement it. It created a lot of backlog, because the markets are not used to collecting this information for the Mexican consumer,” Barbosa said.
Mexico’s e-commerce market is the second largest in Latin America, after Brazil. Mexico’s online retail market is expected to grow to $63 billion by 2025, according to statesman.
Some of the largest e-commerce companies in Mexico are Amazon and Mercado Libre, followed by Walmart and Liverpool.
Some of the major e-commerce tariff changes that could take effect in January include Mexico eliminating the “minimum” threshold for imports from all countries except the United States and Canada. A 19% tax could be applied to all imports into Mexico from Asia, Europe and South America.
Starting January 1, all imports into Mexico will require customs declarations and payments starting at $0.01.
Mexican authorities said that if the U.S. government imposes new tariffs on Mexican goods, there could be retaliation against U.S. products, which could affect conditions for shipments coming from the United States.
Barbosa said ePost Global has let its customers know about the changes that will take effect in January.
“If you are in the e-commerce business internationally, giving us your phone number, email, full name, address, appropriate label and description of the goods you are shipping is very important,” Barbosa said. “Always make sure that the data about the product and goods you are selling is very clean and inaccurate. Then, if you want to target a specific market, you might focus the website or market to be specific to that country.
Emerson Electric Company It plans to open a second factory in Chihuahua, Mexico, which will generate 600 direct jobs.
The $22.5 million facility will manufacture measuring instruments. The company did not provide a timetable for building the facility
“Chihuahua is ideally located for manufacturing, which will help Emerson meet the future competitive needs of our measuring instrument customers in the region,” Michael Mock, vice president of global operations for Emerson, said in a press release. press release.
Chihuahua is located in northern Mexico about 230 miles from El Paso, Texas.
Emerson’s first factory in Chihuahua opened in 1995 and currently employs 700 workers.
St. Louis-based Emerson (NYSE: Electronic medical records) is a global provider of five business segments: operations management, industrial automation, grid energy, climate technologies, and commercial and residential solutions.
Misnak Company It plans to invest $20 million to build a rubber tire machinery factory in Leon, Mexico.
The plant will manufacture rubber processing equipment as well as other machinery to produce mechanical parts and components.
“Mexico borders the United States and is an important tire production base, which helps the company be closer to North America,” the company said. European Rubber Magazine.
The facility will be the company’s first manufacturing operation in North America. Leon is located in central Mexico in the state of Guanajuato.
Mesnac also has a research and technology center in Akron, Ohio. Misnak, based in China, is a technology company that makes hardware and software solutions for rubber production companies.
Investment company True range Partnered with Titan Development to develop a speculative 440,300 square foot logistics facility in Laredo, Texas.
The project, located on 26 acres, will include 150 truck dock doors, 264 trailer stalls, a 185-foot truck park and 36-foot clear heights. Virtual Builders Exchange.
“Laredo’s transportation-friendly, growth-driven location close to the border makes it an ideal location for our development,” said Joe Nunn, vice president of development at RealTerm.
Realterm is a transportation-focused real estate and infrastructure investment firm headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland. In August, the company announced plans to build 236,693 square foot transportation facility In Laredo.
