New US-Mexico trade deal fails to reduce e-commerce tariffs

The new trade deal between Mexico, the US and Canada opens the door for more electronic trade as it protects electronic goods and services from discrimination. But the agreement has failed to open up Mexico further to e-commerce as it kept a low tax threshold for imports, a report by local consultancy the CIU said.

Before the deal was closed last month, expectations ran high that Mexico would increase the minimum level at which international goods are subject to customs, dubbed "de minimis" rule, from US$50 to US$100. But as Canada only increased its own de minimis from Cdn$20 to Cdn$40 (US$31), Mexico backed off and kept its level unchanged, the report said.

The US also kept its de minimis, currently US$800.

Mexico's decision to leave that rule unchanged "left low expectations for the e-commerce industry, which recommended increasing it up to US$300," the CIU reported.

However, the deal does include "fundamental" initiatives to increase digital services' trade as it forbids discrimination against electronically delivered goods and services such as video, music, and software as well as e-books, the CIU said.

The agreement also introduced rules against forcing companies to store data domestically as well as protections for value-added services such as popular OTTs against tariffs and discriminatory practices. Mexico has said the deal offers legal certainty in the telecommunications market and that it could lead to more telecoms operators entering the market.