On February 17, 2023, the Ministry of Economy published in the Federal Official Gazette (DOF) an administrative regulation prohibiting imports of goods produced with forced labor which will become effective on May 18, 2023.
This regulation implements the obligation included in the USMCA to prohibit the importation of goods produced in whole or in part by forced or compulsory labor including forced or compulsory child labor.
In accordance with this new regulation, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MLSW) may initiate an investigation (on its own or at the request of a private party) where it will determine if forced labor was used in the production of goods. If after the investigation the MLSW determines that forced labor was used in the production of goods, such findings (“called resolutions”) will be published on the MLSW website. As a consequence, goods covered by such a resolution will be prohibited from entering Mexico.
Please note that all HTS codes on the Mexican tariff are subject to this new regulation agreement. However, said regulation will be considered fulfilled if the goods that will be imported are not on a resolution published by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.
As of today, there is no resolution that has been issued by MLSW, and as such there are presently no goods prohibited from entering Mexico.
As the effective date of the regulation approaches, further clarifications on this new regulation should be issued by the MLSW and the Ministry of Economy.