Here’s the translation in English:
Mexico is in a privileged position with the growth in foreign investment looking to establish itself in the country to access the U.S. market, benefiting various industries such as e-commerce. This growth has driven the migration of companies, mainly Asian, creating a domino effect problem in the country’s supply chains.**
Rogelio González Achirica, president of the One Step Group Council and Recintos Fiscalizados del Noreste, emphasized in an interview that China has become an “e-commerce giant” with overinstalled capacity, and therefore cannot stop manufacturing products that are “not only of medium quality, but also of high quality.”
“Everyone knows that China is the factory of the world, and that gives it tremendous power in its economy, which means it has to move products. The most serious issue happening today is that these platforms are moving 10,000 tons of products daily around the world,” he added.
He emphasized that Mexico (and the world) is being flooded with these platforms, although there are sectors of the population that benefit from the lower prices of the products.
The expert indicated that, for example, the products most consumed by the Mexican population on these platforms are clothing and footwear at 39%, personal care at 17%, and consumer electronics at 16%.
He explained that one of the main problems generated by e-commerce companies is the increase in air transport costs.
“These platforms use air transport because they are in a cutthroat competition and want to reach the consumer faster. This results in skyrocketing air freight prices. It’s ridiculous that to transport a sweater worth, say, 10 dollars, via air freight, you might be paying five dollars for shipping, almost the value of the garment,” he explained.
Furthermore, González Achirica stated that these practices are harming small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“We are killing SMEs with e-commerce, not just in Mexico. In Korea and other countries, there are many complaints from SMEs that are nearly dying out, as the damage caused by this e-commerce of undervalued products is making it impossible for small family businesses to survive,” he said.
The arrival of companies to the country has brought various challenges. One of them, according to Rogelio González, is the lack of customs training, especially in logistics and courier services.
Increased Tax Oversight
At the end of May, the Tax Administration Service (SAT) announced that it identified improper practices by courier and parcel companies in the importation of various goods such as clothing, home decor, jewelry, kitchen utensils, toys, electronics, among others, aimed at avoiding the payment of the general import tax (IGI) and the value-added tax (IVA).
The oversight body detected an increase in imports involving foreign companies engaged in online sales, e-commerce platforms, consignees, and courier and parcel companies. By omitting tax payments and failing to comply with regulations and non-tariff restrictions, they could engage in the crimes of smuggling and tax evasion.
For this reason, it stated that it is taking enforcement actions to strengthen surveillance and combat such practices, urging companies in the sector to operate within the framework of legality and avoid causing harm to the federal treasury.
