The IMMEX Decree no longer allows temporary import of finished footwear

What the decree sets out

On August 28, 2025 the Official Gazette published an amendment to the Decree for the Promotion of the Manufacturing, Maquiladora and Export Services Industry. The reform adds headings 64.01 to 64.05 of the tariff schedule, which correspond to finished footwear, to Annex I of the decree. As a result, those goods can no longer be imported temporarily under an IMMEX program. The decree took effect the day after its publication.

Why it was adopted

The Ministry of Economy based the amendment on an atypical rise in temporary footwear imports that, instead of being returned or incorporated into an export product, ended up being sold on the domestic market. The IMMEX program is designed for inputs that are transformed and exported, not for bringing in finished products with a tariff benefit that then competes with local industry. The reform follows the same logic as the measure applied to the textile and apparel sector in December 2024.

The tariff context

The restriction does not arrive in isolation. In late 2025 a decree of tariffs on imports from countries with which Mexico has no trade agreement was added, under Most Favored Nation treatment, published in the Official Gazette on December 29, 2025 and in force since January 2026, which raised many tariff lines. For an IMMEX company, this means that both the ability to import certain products and the cost of its inputs depending on their origin have become decisions worth reviewing carefully.

What to review

If a program included finished footwear among its temporary operations, that route is no longer available and the operation must be redirected, for example toward a definitive import with payment of the corresponding duties. Beyond footwear, the episode is a reminder that Annex I of the IMMEX Decree is updated, and that it is worth periodically checking the company's product list against the current version before scheduling new operations.