AAFA questions Mexico’s footwear import policy
The American Apparel and Footwear Association has said some of its members have had to stop exporting shoes to Mexico because of a new ruling designed to protect Mexico’s footwear producers.
The decree suspends a duty phase-out for footwear set to begin this year, so that the phase-out will now begin January 2019 instead.
“It also gives permission to the Mexican Secretaries of Finance and Economy to implement regulatory measures and non-tariff restrictions on footwear imports, including: reducing the number of customs stations for the import of footwear from 33 down to 9; basing duty rates on government-set estimated prices rather than the actual declared price of a product; providing a certified guarantee from a financial institution; creating a footwear importer registration list; and, a possible anti-dumping investigation into imports from China and Vietnam,” said the AAFA.
“AAFA has heard from some companies that these new regulations have essentially prevented companies from importing into Mexico altogether,” it added.
We reported in September how Mexican footwear producers were delighted at the president’s tough new stance on imports.
