Contents
- What rules apply to shipping apparel into Mexico?
- The label has to be sewn in
- Before you ship: the checks that matter
- Apparel into Mexico: what to resolve before shipping
- Definitions
- Frequently asked questions
- What does a Mexican apparel label need to say?
- Why does the sewn label matter so much?
- Did duties on apparel into Mexico change?
- Do US origin garments pay these higher duties?
- Is there an extra registration for textile importers?
- Sources
Apparel and textiles entering Mexico need a NOM-004 label carrying fibre composition by percentage in descending order, care instructions, size, the responsible party in Mexico with their tax registration, and country of origin. In garments the label must be sewn in. Duties on many textile and apparel lines also rose under the 2025 and 2026 tariff decrees.
- NOM-004 requires fibre composition by percentage in descending order, care instructions, size, responsible party with Mexican tax ID, and country of origin.
- In garments the label must be physically sewn in rather than applied as a sticker.
- A December 2024 decree raised duties on 138 apparel tariff lines to 35 percent and 17 textile lines to 15 percent (DOF).
- The December 2025 decree, effective January 2026, covers textiles and footwear among its sectors, with rates from 5 to 50 percent (DOF).
- Textiles and footwear are among the sectors where Mexico applies additional importer registry requirements, so confirm your status with your broker.
What rules apply to shipping apparel into Mexico?
Two sets. Product labelling under NOM-004, which is prescriptive and physically enforced, and tariff treatment, which moved twice recently for textiles and apparel. Both need resolving before goods move, not after.
Apparel is one of the most closely regulated categories entering Mexico, and the reason is that it combines two things authorities scrutinise: consumer information and a sector with a long history of trade measures. The first set of rules is labelling. NOM-004 governs what a textile or apparel label must say and how it must be attached, and it is prescriptive rather than general. The second set is tariff treatment, and this is where the last two years have brought real change. A decree published in December 2024 raised duties on 138 apparel tariff lines to 35 percent and on 17 textile lines to 15 percent. Then the broader decree published at the end of December 2025 and effective from January 2026 covered more than 1,400 tariff lines across many sectors, with textiles and footwear among them, at rates ranging from 5 to 50 percent. What both measures have in common is that they target goods from origins without a trade agreement with Mexico. Apparel that qualifies under USMCA and travels with a valid certification of origin is treated differently. So before anything else, establish two facts about your shipment: what the origin is and whether it can be certified, and what the current rate is for your specific tariff line. Those two answers change the economics more than any freight decision you will make.
The label has to be sewn in
NOM-004 requires fibre composition by percentage in descending order, care instructions, size, the responsible party in Mexico with tax registration, and country of origin. In garments the label is sewn, not stuck on, which means it has to be planned at production.
The labelling requirement is where apparel shipments most often go wrong, and the reason is physical rather than administrative. NOM-004 requires the label to carry fibre composition expressed as a percentage of each fibre in descending order, so a garment that is not one hundred percent of a single fibre must show the breakdown. It requires care instructions covering washing, drying and any treatment restrictions. It requires the size or dimensions. It requires the name and address of the party responsible in Mexico together with their tax registration, which is the element foreign brands consistently miss because it points at an entity inside the country rather than at your own address abroad. And it requires the country of origin. The physical part is what makes this different from other categories: in garments this label must be sewn in, not applied as an adhesive sticker. That single detail moves the decision upstream, because sewing a label is a production step, not a warehouse step. If your goods are already manufactured and packed without a compliant sewn label, your options narrow to relabelling operations that are slow and priced per unit. The practical consequence is that apparel labelling has to be specified when you place the production order, in the same conversation as sizing and packaging. For goods already in a warehouse, labelling at origin or at a border facility before the crossing is still far cheaper than doing it after customs has held the shipment.
Before you ship: the checks that matter
Confirm your tariff line and its current rate, establish whether origin can be certified under USMCA, check whether your sector carries additional importer registry requirements, and get the sewn label specified at production rather than after.
Four checks cover most of the risk in this category. First, the tariff line. Textile and apparel classification is detailed and closely related products carry very different rates, so confirm the exact code with your broker rather than working from a sector headline. Given that rates changed in December 2024 and again in December 2025, also confirm the date of whatever source you are reading, because a 2025 figure may simply be out of date. Second, origin. If the goods qualify under USMCA, get the certification of origin prepared before shipping, not after, because qualifying goods without certification pay the general rate anyway. If the goods are from a non-agreement origin, price the duty in from the start rather than discovering it at clearance. Third, registry requirements. Mexico applies additional importer registry requirements for certain sensitive sectors, and textiles and footwear have historically been among them. Whether your importer of record is already enrolled for that sector is a question to ask before goods move, because resolving it at the border is not possible. Fourth, the label. Specify the sewn NOM-004 label at production, with the Mexican responsible party and tax registration already decided, since that field cannot be filled in later by the warehouse. Get these four right and apparel clears like any other category. Get any of them wrong and the goods sit while you fix something that was cheap to fix earlier. BringGo Ship works with a licensed Mexican customs broker to confirm classification, registry status and origin documentation before goods move.
Apparel into Mexico: what to resolve before shipping
| Check | What it decides | When to do it |
| Tariff line and rate | How much duty you pay | Before pricing |
| Origin and certification | Whether duty is zero or general | Before shipping |
| Sector registry status | Whether your importer can clear it | Before goods move |
| NOM-004 sewn label | Whether goods can enter and be sold | At production |
| Fibre composition | Percentages in descending order | On the label |
| Responsible party | Name and Mexican tax registration | On the label |
Definitions
- NOM-004: NOM-004 is the Mexican standard setting what a textile or apparel label must contain and how it must be attached.
- Fibre composition: Fibre composition is the percentage of each fibre in the product, shown in descending order on the label.
- Sector registry: A sector registry is an additional importer enrolment Mexico requires for certain sensitive sectors, historically including textiles and footwear.
Frequently asked questions
What does a Mexican apparel label need to say?
Fibre composition by percentage in descending order, care instructions, size or dimensions, the name and address of the responsible party in Mexico with their tax registration, and country of origin. The information must be in Spanish, and in garments the label must be sewn in rather than applied as a sticker.
Why does the sewn label matter so much?
Because sewing is a production step, not a warehouse step. If goods are already manufactured and packed without a compliant sewn label, your options narrow to relabelling operations that are slow and priced per unit. Apparel labelling has to be specified when you place the production order.
Did duties on apparel into Mexico change?
Yes, twice. A December 2024 decree raised duties on 138 apparel tariff lines to 35 percent and 17 textile lines to 15 percent. The December 2025 decree, effective January 2026, covers textiles and footwear among more than 1,400 lines at rates from 5 to 50 percent. Both target origins without a trade agreement.
Do US origin garments pay these higher duties?
Not if they qualify under USMCA and travel with a valid certification of origin. The measures target goods that cannot claim preferential treatment. But qualifying goods without certification pay the general rate anyway, so the paperwork has to exist before the goods move.
Is there an extra registration for textile importers?
Mexico applies additional importer registry requirements for certain sensitive sectors, and textiles and footwear have historically been among them. Whether your importer of record is enrolled for that sector is a question to settle before goods move, because it cannot be resolved at the border.
Get classification and labelling right first: BringGo Ship
Sources
- Secretaría de Economía (NOM) (gob.mx)
- DOF (Mexican official gazette) (dof.gob.mx)
- SAT (Mexican tax administration) (sat.gob.mx)
Note: This content is for general information only and is not legal, tax or customs advice. Rates and rules can change often in 2026; verify the current details with an official source (SAT, DOF, CBP) or our licensed customs broker before acting.
James Carter
Warehousing, Fulfillment and Product Compliance
Writes on warehousing, fulfillment and product compliance, covering NOM labelling, restricted goods and the models for holding stock at the border.
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