Mexico: Establishment of import quotas for refined and raw sugar.
Description
On August 6 2009, the Mexican Ministry of Economy established two import quotas for up to 393 thousand tons of refined sugar classified under the following tariff codes of the Mexican Harmonized System: 1701.99.01, 1701.99.02 and 1701.99.99. These quotas will remain in effect from August 1 to December 31, 2009.
In accordance with the publication, the first import quota of 353.7 thousand tons may be used by the exporters of all countries. Imports of refined sugar to Mexico entering under this quota are subject to a tariff of 0.03650266 dollars per kilogram.
The second import quota can only be used to import up to 39.3 thousand tons of refined sugar duty-free originating from Nicaragua. This quota is the result of Mexico’s commitments under the Free Trade Agreement between Mexico and Nicaragua (FTA). In particular, Annex 2 of Article 4-04 of the FTA and Decision No. 7 of the Administrative Commission of the Agreement provides that, if in any given year Mexico needs to import sugar it shall grant to Nicaraguan exporters at least 10% of its needs.
On September 18, 2009, the Mexican authorities increased in the following manner the amount of refined sugar that can be imported into Mexico under the aforementioned quotas:
• An additional 270 thousand tons for the quota applicable to imports of all countries; and
• An additional 30 thousand tons for the quota applicable to imports originating in Nicaragua.
Finally, on September 7, 2009, the Mexican authorities established two new import quotas for raw sugar classified under the following tariff codes of the Mexican Harmonized System: 1701.11.01 and 1701.11.02. These quotas will remain in effect from September to December 31, 2009.
In accordance with the publication, the first import quota of raw sugar of up to 186.3 thousand tons may be used by the exporters of all countries. Imports of this tyoe of sugar to Mexico entering under this quota are subject to the Most Favored Nation tariff. The second import quota can only be used to import up to 20.7 thousand tons of refined sugar.
GTA thanks a representative of the Government of Mexico for clarifying the nature of this measure. Further investigation on our part confirmed the points made to the GTA by this representative.
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | |
| Was such evidence identified? | |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? |
Date Discovered: 06/08/2009
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 6 Aug 2009
GTA Evaluation: Green
Source:
Mexican Ministry of Economy
http://www.iqom.com.mx/documents/1109/CUPO_AZUCAR060809.doc
http://www.iqom.com.mx/documents/1109/Azucar_Cupo_180909.doc
http://www.iqom.com.mx/documents/1109/070909Cupo_para_importar_azucar.doc
Government Response:
- 935 reads
