Measures announced to combat clothing and footwear smuggling in Mexico

Before businessmen in the textile sector, the Mexican government announced new measures to close the illegal entry of clothing and footwear, which occurs after the industry has observed 15 consecutive quarters of declines and even company closures.

When participating in the ninth National Meeting of the Fiber-Textile-Clothing-Footwear Chain, Rafael Marín Mollinedo, head of the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM), commented that this institution will propose in the Foreign Trade Committee of the Tax Administration Service (SAT), where the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) also participates, that the handling of textiles and footwear is not allowed in the strategic controlled premises, as is currently established in Annex 29 of the General Rules of Foreign Trade.

According to the textile and footwear industry, fabrics are imported under this customs regime, but they do not go abroad again, but rather remain in the country without paying taxes.

Carlos Gabriel Lerma Cotera, Undersecretary of Revenue of the SHCP, commented that ANAM reported that this route has been used by importers after the federal government issued a decree in December 2024 to stop temporary imports of textiles, clothing and footwear.

After commenting that the exclusion of the textile sector from those recently audited is an old claim, Marín Mollinedo commented that a resolution will be reached today.

Lerma Cotera commented that with this new measure, which will also apply to footwear, it will “inhibit one more gap used by the informal sector, because this is contraband, this is illegality.”

He highlighted that smuggling and evasion are serious problems for all sectors of the country. Therefore, the fiscal package for this year included an important reform to the Customs Law to address this issue. He reiterated that the fundamental changes focus on the responsibility of rural agents in these situations.

For his part, Alejandro Malagón Barragán, leader of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin), pointed out that customs will be the key to reducing illegality in the textile sector.

Rafael Torre Lamuño, who assumed the presidency of Canaintex, indicated that he will insist on recovering the competitiveness of this industry and positioning it strategically in the Mexican economy.

He expressed his gratitude to President Claudia Sheinbaum for her support, highlighting the importance of defending “Made in Mexico” as a national development strategy.