The news
On August 21, 2026, Mexico's Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación) published an agreement delegating powers to public servants of the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM). It took effect the day after publication.
According to the customs brokerages that track the Gazette daily — TLC Asociados and GOMSA — the powers go to the General Directorate of Electronic Processing of Customs Data, under fractions XXXVI, XXXIX and XL of article 25 of ANAM's internal regulations:
- Authorizing the registration for sampling of goods that need special handling (sterile, radioactive, hazardous, or requiring specialized equipment).
- Ruling on the characteristics, nature, uses and origin of goods; performing assays on minerals and metals and expert examinations.
- Establishing the nature, condition, origin and other characteristics of foreign trade goods, suggesting their tariff classification, and requesting opinions from customs brokers, agents, appraisers or other experts.
First, in fairness: this adds nothing to your obligations
This is an internal organizational agreement. It creates no new filing, changes no rate, and asks for no document that wasn't already required. If someone sells it to you as "new rules for importers starting in August," they're selling you smoke.
We say so because in recent weeks we've had to discard three trade-press stories that recycled old changes as if they were this week's. This one genuinely is from this week — which is exactly why it's worth understanding at its real size.
So why should you care?
Because the underlying question — who decides what your goods are — moves more money than almost anything else in foreign trade, and gets discussed the least.
The tariff classification is the eight-digit code (plus Mexico's NICO identifier) your product enters the country under. Three things hang off that number:
| The tariff code determines… | Which translates into… |
|---|---|
| The applicable duty | How much general import tax you pay |
| Non-tariff regulations | Whether you need a permit, a NOM standard, a health notice or a certificate |
| Preferential treatment | Whether your certificate of origin is any use for that code |
When it's declared wrong — sometimes by mistake, sometimes conveniently — the correction doesn't arrive on clearance day. It arrives months later, as tax differences charged to the importer.
What this agreement confirms in practice
That on the authority's side there is a technical unit empowered to sample your product, analyze it, and say it isn't what your customs declaration claims it is. That capability isn't new; what the agreement does is put in writing which unit exercises it.
Note the verb in point 3: the authority suggests the classification. Determining and declaring it remains the responsibility of the importer and whoever clears on their behalf. That asymmetry is the whole point: you declare and you answer for it; they rule and they correct.
What you can actually do about it
Four concrete things — none urgent, all useful:
- Keep a technical data sheet for every product. Composition, materials, use, manufacturing process. That's what holds up a tariff code when someone challenges it, and almost nobody has it on hand.
- Check that the code is consistent across entries. The same SKU entering under two different codes on two shipments is the easiest red flag to spot from outside.
- Keep a physical reference sample of what you import regularly — especially blends, textiles, or multi-material items, which are the most disputed.
- Ask your customs broker what they based it on. Not out of distrust: to have the reasoning documented. If a different ruling ever lands, having it in writing is the difference between arguing and paying.
If you're just starting out and aren't sure how to read the document where all of this lives, we walk through it in how to read a Mexican pedimento, and the prerequisites in Mexico's importer registry.
FAQ
Do I need to file anything because of this agreement? No. It's a delegation of powers inside ANAM; it creates no new obligations for importers.
Can customs change my tariff classification? The authority can rule on the nature of the goods and suggest the corresponding code. If it differs from what was declared, a procedure opens and tax differences may be assessed. The declaration remains the importer's responsibility.
Is this related to the tariffs on Chinese goods? No. Different things: that is tariff policy (what rate is charged), this is internal organization of the authority (who rules). We cover tariffs separately in China–Mexico tariffs.
Does Ecommex classify my goods? No. Tariff classification is determined by the importer together with their licensed customs broker, who holds the license and the legal responsibility. We come in afterward: receiving, storing and shipping goods that have already cleared customs.
If your operation imports and also needs someone to receive, hold and ship that inventory inside Mexico, here's how we handle import logistics.