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ANNOUNCEMENT 18 Mar 2009
In March 2009, the government of Mexico announced a change in import duties.NUMBER OF INTERVENTIONS
1
SOURCE
Diario Oficial de la Federaci?n, 'DECRETO por el que se modifica el art?culo 1 del diverso por el que se establece la Tasa Aplicable durante 2003, del Impuesto General de Importaci?n, para las mercanc?as originarias de Am?rica del Norte, por lo que respecta a las mercanc?as originarias de los Estados Unidos de Am?rica, publicado el 31 de diciembre de 2002, 18 March 2009, http://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5084119&fecha=18/03/2009&print=true
On 18 March 2009, Mexican President Felipe Calderón published a Presidential Decree in the Official Digest of the Federation amending the first article of a Decree from 2003 that established import tariffs on goods originating in the United States. The tariffs imposed are in direct retaliation for the cancellation, by the United States Department of Transportation, of a program allowing the free circulation of a limited number of Mexican transport trucks within U.S. territory.
The North American Free Trade Agreement, ratified by the Mexican Senate in 1993, called for the opening of Mexican and American territory to trucks from both countries by 2000. In 2000, Mexico and the United States referred to an arbitration panel to resolve their dispute over the liberalization of trans-border transportation services, and in 2007 a pilot program for the entry of Mexican truck to the United States was initiated. The program was intended to last one year, but was extended to 2010 by mutual agreement. In 2009, however, the American Congress prohibited the U.S. Department of Transportation from using funds to continue the program and the pilot project was terminated. According to the Government of Mexico, the end of the pilot project represents the failure of the two parties to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement on the issue of trans-border transportation and to implement the recommentations of the arbitration panel. In the opinion of the Mexican Government, this determination permits Mexico to strike preferential tariffs levied against specific goods originating from the United States of America.
Tariffs have been reimposed on numerous categories of fruits, vegetables and forestry products (including Christmas trees); processed food products; alcoholic beverages; consumer textiles and paper products; electrical appliances; and metal products.