Mexico Implements Import Licensing Requirement for Footwear

...the Mexican government issued a decree on August 29, 2014, announcing a new set of measures aimed at preventing the undervaluation of imported footwear and enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of domestic footwear manufacturers. Among other things, the decree authorizes the Ministry of Economy (Secretaría de Economía) and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público) to carry out seven specific permanent actions to prevent and combat undervaluation practices in the footwear import market. These actions have been gradually implemented over the past four months, including a requirement for footwear importers to be listed in a sector-specific registry, the designation of certain specific ports to process footwear imports, and the establishment of reference prices for footwear.

One of the key measures announced by the government last August was a commitment to establish non-tariff regulations and restrictions on footwear imports in accordance with the Foreign Trade Law, including automatic prior licenses. After some delay, the Mexican government issued a regulation on January 8 creating effective from January 19 for “commercial statistical monitoring purposes” a new automatic licensing system for footwear imports...

This has been excerpted from the 20 January 2015 article by Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg.