International Trade and Maquiladoras

The word, "maquiladora", is derived from the word "maquila," which is defined as "the price (multure) that a miller traditionally charged for milling" or "the act itself of milling someone else’s grain.” This is similar to the way in which most maquiladoras provide services to their foreign affiliates and to the manner in which the latter pay their maquiladoras for services

Now, rather than milling grain, a maquiladora, or an “in-bond” manufacturing plant, typically takes the form of an industrial enterprise dedicated to the assembly, transformation or manufacture of foreign inputs temporarily imported free of customs duties and tariffs and subsequently exported after having undergone assembly or processing.  

However, in accordance with NAFTA Section 303 phase-out rules and Mexico’s PROSEC (Sector Promotion) Programs, the rules governing these plants are constantly in a state of flux. To ensure  that our clients understand and comply with the applicable rules, SCGPC and our alliance partners Sanchez-DeVanny provide a range of value-added services including:

• Maquiladora, PITEX, ALTEX, PROSEC program permitting and compliance

• NAFTA Section 303 compliance

• Rules of origin and HS Code analysis

• Import licenses and related permitting

• Associated tax analysis and contractual framework

• Health registrations, licenses and permits

• Import licenses

• Foreign taxpayer filings

• Maquiladora and PROSEC registrations and filings

• Foreign Investment registration and filings

SCGPC also represents clients before Mexican customs (Aduana), including filing administrative actions seeking the release of temporarily detained goods and facilitating customs clearance.

Useful government sites: