A free trade agreement doesn’t lower your duties automatically. It lowers duties on goods that qualify as originating and that prove it with a document. Without that document you pay the general rate even if your product ships from Texas. It’s the single biggest pile of money left on the table in Mexican trade.
First things first: “where it ships from” ≠ “where it originates”
Origin is a legal concept, not a geographic one. Goods are USMCA-originating if they meet the rule of origin for their tariff code: they were wholly obtained in the region, their non-originating inputs underwent a tariff classification shift, or they hit a minimum regional value content.
Practical translation: a product assembled in the United States with Chinese parts may or may not be USMCA-originating. It depends on the rule for its tariff code. Assuming it without checking is signing up for a tax assessment for improperly claimed preference.
How certification works under USMCA
Unlike the old NAFTA, USMCA has no official form. The certification of origin is a statement that can go on the commercial invoice or on a separate document, and it can be issued by the exporter, the producer or the importer.
The 9 minimum data elements
- Who certifies: importer, exporter or producer
- Name, address, phone and email of the certifier
- Exporter details (if different)
- Producer details (or a note that they’re withheld)
- Importer details
- Description and tariff classification (to at least 6 digits)
- The applicable origin criterion
- Blanket period (a single shipment or a blanket certification of up to 12 months)
- Signature, date and the statement that the information is true
Miss one and the authority can deny the preferential treatment. Run through them as a checklist — literally.
The 5 mistakes that kill the benefit
- Certifying with nothing behind it. The supplier signs “because we always sign it” and never actually ran the rule of origin. In a verification, the tax bill lands on the importer.
- A description that doesn’t match the invoice and the customs entry (pedimento).
- The wrong classification on the certification: it changes the applicable rule and, with it, the criterion.
- An expired blanket certification. It covers up to 12 months; shipment 13 needs a new one.
- Not declaring it on the customs entry. You can hold a perfect document: if the identifier isn’t declared, you pay the general rate anyway.
Keep it for 5 years
The retention obligation is five years and — this is the key part — it includes the records that support origin: bills of materials, regional value content calculations, input invoices. If you get verified, “my supplier said it qualified” is not a defense.
What about the other treaties?
Mexico has one of the widest treaty networks in the world: USMCA, CPTPP, the agreement with the European Union, the Pacific Alliance and several more. Each has its own certification format or mechanism and its own rules of origin — the principle is the same: qualify, document, declare.
Look up your tariff code in the calculator to see which treaties apply to your product and how much each one would save you. If you’re not sure your goods qualify, write to us: analyzing the rule of origin before you import costs a lot less than defending it afterward.