If you shop from US stores online and ship to Mexico, a significant customs change now makes your routing strategy more consequential \u2014 and more valuable \u2014 than ever. Mexico raised the tariff applied to international courier shipments arriving from countries outside its free-trade agreements, from 19% to 33.5%. For packages originating in the United States, however, USMCA-preferential rates remain fully intact.<\/p>\n
Mexico’s tax authority introduced the new 33.5% courier rate in mid-2025 through a General Foreign Trade Rules amendment that took effect August 15, 2025. The change was then codified in Mexico’s broader Customs Law reform \u2014 one of the most sweeping overhauls in years \u2014 which entered into force on January 1, 2026, and raised duties on approximately 1,463 tariff categories by an average of 35%.<\/p>\n
The reform’s stated objectives are to combat tax evasion, protect domestic industry, and curb triangulation schemes \u2014 in practice, the routing of goods through intermediate countries to avoid higher duties. Chinese e-commerce platforms shipping directly to Mexican consumers are the clearest target.<\/p>\n
Not all international parcels are treated the same. Mexico’s commitments under the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) mean that packages originating in the US or Canada continue to qualify for significantly lower preferential duty tiers:<\/p>\n
Compare that to the 33.5% flat rate applied to the same value tiers for parcels arriving from China, the European Union, or other countries without a trade agreement with Mexico. On a $200 package, that difference is roughly $38 in duty versus $67 \u2014 nearly double. Mexico’s standard 16% IVA (VAT) applies separately on top of any duties for items valued over $50, regardless of where the package originates.<\/p>\n
The new rate hits hardest for shoppers who:<\/p>\n
US purchases \u2014 from Amazon.com, Costco.com, B&H Photo, Nike, Apple, and thousands of other American retailers \u2014 are unaffected by the 33.5% rate. Those packages continue to clear customs under the lower USMCA tiers, unchanged from prior years.<\/p>\n
Say you order $150 worth of sports gear. Shipped from a US retailer, the USMCA rate is 19%, or about $28.50 in duty. The same item shipped directly from a non-treaty country now incurs 33.5%, or $50.25 \u2014 a $22 difference on a single order. Across a year of regular online shopping, those gaps compound quickly.<\/p>\n