Arturo Gonzalez

Ask the Expert

Question:  What happens if my company by mistake imports in to Mexico under a Maquila program a product that is not listed in the authorized program?   (Ciudad Juarez, Mexico)

Answer:  This is something that could easily happen due to the fact that most of the Maquila programs list eligible products by very generic descriptions and not by company specific nomenclature or part numbers. As a result, when the import entry is filed, a specific part number and/or its accompanying description may not match the descriptions listed in the authorized program. Importers into Mexico often discover this when it is already too late and face significant fines ranging from 100% to 130% of the commercial value of the imported merchandise.

Question:  What is a PROSEC? And what relation, if any, does it have with a Maquiladora program?   (New Albany, Indiana)

Answer:  PROSEC is the Spanish acronym for Programa de Promocion Sectorial (Promotional Sectoral Program), which generally speaking, is a program that allows importers to minimize the impact of the duty payment owed for non-NAFTA eligible raw materials temporarily imported into Mexico under a Maquiladora or PITEX program and then re-exported to the United States or Canada. The PROSEC program was created in response to Article 303 of the NAFTA, which became effective on January 1, 2001 and removed the duty deferral benefits previously available to non-NAFTA originating materials imported into Mexico under the Maquiladora programs.

Due to the constantly evolving nature of technology and the structure of the Mexican tariff, some companies have discovered that their products are not covered by the PROSEC programs list and are thus still subject to higher tariffs. However, PROSEC benefits may still be available by formally requesting the government to include their products in these programs.

Because this can be a complex process with significant costs associated with non-compliance, very special care should be taken when preparing and submitting these applications.

Question:  I use reasonable care in the classification of my products imported into the US. Mexican Customs determined that we were not paying the correct amount of duties due to an incorrect classification of the same item. Why are some of my products classified differently in Mexico?   (Twinsburg, Ohio)

Answer:;  There are several reasons of why a classification may differ from one country to another, but with regard to the differences between the United States, the problem comes down to differences of interpretation. While both countries utilizes the General Rules of Interpretation of the Harmonized Tariff System (HTS), Mexico has additional rules that make the Explanatory Notes to the HTS legally binding for classification purposes. In contrast, in the United States the Explanatory Notes are not treated as legally binding nor considered dispositive and are used to only provide guidance and commentary on the scope of each heading.

In addition, the Tariff in Mexico is a Spanish translated version of the official French and English Tariffs where even dictionaries may have different meanings for the same term from English to Spanish or French to Spanish.

Question:  Could you explain what the Mexican "NOMs" are?   (Seattle, Washington)

Answer:  Mexican Customs has many ways to regulate goods that enter into its territory. One of the most sensitive areas for the importer into Mexico is their compliance to the Mexican Official Norms (NOMs). The Mexican Official Norms are non-tariff barriers that are identifiable by their statistical breakouts in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of Mexico. The NOMs were established to both educate and protect the consumer in matters of product safety, quality, animal hygiene, agricultural cleanliness and public health. The two main types of NOMs are for Labeling and Quality requirements. To date, there are 66 different Labeling and Quality NOMs which are applicable to over 35% of all statistical breakouts within the Mexican HTS. Non-compliance to these NOMs can result in infractions, penalties, sanctions and seizures that can seriously damage an importer's supply chain.

NOMs compliance must be shown to the Mexican Customs Authorities at the point of entry into Mexico. Merchandise subject to NOMs cannot be imported into Mexico for commercial purposes without compliance to the NOMs. Compliance is found in the commercial information labeling or a certificate of quality or verification for the imported article.

Question:  What is "TLCUEM"?   (Detroit, Michigan

Answer:  TLCUEM is the Spanish acronym for Tratado de Libre Comercio Union Europea-Mexico (Free Trade Agreement European Community-Mexico). Published in the Federation Official Diary (Dario Oficial de la Federacion) in Mexico on June 26th, 2000.

Question:  Who has signed free trade agreements with Mexico?   (Detroit, Michigan)

Answer:  To date, the United States, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, the European Union, Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland have signed free trade agreements with Mexico.

ARTURO GONZALEZ, Principal, Mexico Regulatory Compliance Group, Expeditors Tradewin, LLC. Arturo served for the Secretaria de Hacienda y Credito Publico in Mexico as an Import Specialist with the Mexican Customs Service before becoming Chief of Staff of the Classification Department in Mexico City. Arturo's experience with the Mexican Customs Service included issuing classification rulings and representing Mexico in the NAFTA Customs Sub-group meetings and in the Organization of American States (OAS). Arturo can be reached at (734) 857-5000, or at arturo.gonzalez@expeditors.com

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