FOREIGN TRADE NEWSLETTER

On January 22 2021, through the Agreement published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), the Ministry of Economy announced the Creation of the National Committee for Trade Facilitation, which represents greater openness of Mexico to international trade. The purpose of this document is to facilitate coordination between government agencies and entities for the design, execution and evaluation of programs and actions for the facilitation of foreign trade.

The National Committee for the Facilitation of Foreign Trade will be conformed of representatives of the following agencies (who will have the right to speak and vote):

• Ministry of Economy (SE).
• Ministry of Foreign Relations (SRE).
• Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA).
• Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP).
• Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat).
• Ministry of Energy (Sener).
• Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader).
• Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SCT).
• Ministry of Health.

The representatives of these secretariats must have an undersecretary level and will be chaired by the head of the Ministry of Economy. The Committee, through its president, may invite representatives of certain government agencies to form part of it, including:

• Bank of Mexico
• Tax administration service
• National Regulatory Improvement Commission
• Federal Commission of Economic Competition

Among the functions that the Committee in question will have, the following stand out:

• Serve as coordinating body of the different dependencies of the Federal Public Administration that have competence and that intervene in the different aspects related to the implementation and application of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation.
• Assist with the Ministry ‘zsof Economy and the Ministry of Foreign Relations, according to the competence of their members in the design of policies, programs and actions aimed at the simplification and automation of foreign trade processes, as well as coordinating their execution .
• Propose questions related to matters related to the implementation and application of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, as well as approve questions related to matters related to its implementation and application.
• Propose the signing of agreements and conventions between the representatives of the three levels of government and the social and private sectors in the scope of their competences, in order to complement the actions with the aim of achieving improvements in the processes in foreign trade matters.

• Analyze and issue recommendations to improve the efficiency of processes and procedures for foreign trade in order to reduce costs and eliminate barriers to trade, in accordance with applicable national and international regulations.
• Analyze the regulatory framework on foreign trade and, if applicable, issue recommendations.

According to what was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, the creation of the National Committee for Trade Facilitation is permanent, and it was established that said Committee must be installed within 35 business days following the entry into force of the agreement.