Changes to foreign trade law in Mexico

On Oct. 1, the Mexican Ministry of Economy published the attached in the Official Gazette regarding repealing current articles that provided exemptions for compliance to commercial information requirements in various standards.

The main impact is NOM-024 applicable to electrical and electronic products and NOM-050 applicable to components. Products that were previously exempted from the Commercial Information Requirements but must now comply include electrical components and spare parts such as power cords, internal and external power supplies, electrical switches, and motors.

Who is impacted:

• Customers with products that operate with electric energy are required to comply with commercial information.

• Customers that ship electric/electronic components or spare parts into Mexico may be impacted.

Impact to Customers:

Impacted products that have no proof of compliance to the commercial requirements will be held in Customs or the customer’s warehouse until issuance of a Commercial Information Dictum from an accredited Mexican Accreditation Entity (EMA) and a Directorate General for Standards (DGN) authorized Verification Unit. (An extra challenge added by COVID-19: Verifier must go to the customs office where product is being held in order to review the product and present the Dictum)

In order to avoid delays in Customs, customers have two options:

1. Customers can request a Commercial Information Letter from an EMA accredited and DGN authorized Verification Unit. With this letter, customs will not delay shipment or open the product packaging.

2. Customers can self-declare compliance to the applicable standards. Customs will open the product package to verify compliance and request approval from DGN. Note that there may be delays in receiving approval from DGN, which may cause delay in release of shipment from customs.

How can UL help?

UL is an EMA accredited and DGN authorized Verification Unit and can issue the Commercial Information Dictum for products that are held in customs and the Commercial Information Letter for products being shipped to Mexico.

What do customers need to obtain a quote?

Please submit your request for quote to your local office or account manager with the following information.

Commercial information letter:

• Name and type of product(s)
• Trademark(s)
• Model(s)

Commercial information Dictum:

• Name and type of product(s)
• Trademark(s)
• Model(s)
• Quantity of each unique model in the shipment.
• Place where the visit will be conducted (Customs or warehouse location)