Mexico Incentives for Foreign Companies: IMMEX, the Nearshoring Decree & USMCA

For a founder building a North-American production base, this guide explains how Mexico’s investment agencies and IMMEX programme work, the 2025 nearshoring decree, the corporate-tax basics, USMCA access, and how to sequence a Mexican entry.

What role do Mexico’s trade bodies play for foreign companies?

Mexico promotes inbound investment through the Secretariat of Economy and its network of trade and investment offices abroad, together forming the country’s commercial-attaché function. In the first 40 words: these bodies administer the IMMEX manufacturing programme and the nearshoring incentives, guide investors on sector rules and USMCA access, and connect foreign firms to state economic-development agencies that add local support.

Mexico’s pitch is nearshoring: a manufacturing base inside the USMCA free-trade area, on the U.S. border, with competitive labour and a dense supplier ecosystem. The federal agencies handle the national programmes, while each state competes with its own land, training and infrastructure incentives.

For a founder from Türkiye or the Balkans exporting to North America, Mexico is the natural production platform, and its investment offices are the first point of contact.

What is the IMMEX (maquiladora) programme and why does it matter?

The IMMEX programme (Industria Manufacturera, Maquiladora y de Servicios de Exportación), run by the Secretariat of Economy, is Mexico’s core export incentive. It lets a company temporarily import raw materials, components and equipment without paying import duties or VAT, provided the resulting goods are exported.

With a VAT/IEPS certification (CIVA), the temporary import happens on a cashless basis — an immediate VAT credit at customs — which massively improves working capital for an export manufacturer. Maquiladoras under IMMEX pay no import duties on temporarily imported inputs as long as they are exported.

For any assembly, manufacturing or processing operation serving the U.S. market, IMMEX is the foundation on which the rest of the Mexican incentive stack is built.

How does the 2025 nearshoring (Plan México) decree work?

Published in January 2025, the Plan México nearshoring decree grants powerful fiscal incentives to attract relocating companies. The headline is accelerated depreciation of 41% to 91% on new fixed-asset investments (versus the 3%–35% under ordinary rules), with the highest rates for high-technology sectors and R&D, applicable to assets acquired through September 2030.

The decree also adds an extra deduction for training and innovation expenses through fiscal year 2030. Together these front-load tax relief dramatically for firms building new plants, improving early cash flow at exactly the moment capital is being deployed.

This is Mexico’s deliberate bid to capture supply chains reconfiguring closer to the U.S., and for a capital-investing manufacturer it is a substantial sweetener on top of IMMEX.

What are the corporate tax and ownership basics?

Mexico’s corporate income tax rate is approximately 30%, and most sectors allow 100% foreign ownership without a local partner, through vehicles such as the S.A. de C.V. or S. de R.L. de C.V. Certain regional decrees grant a tax credit worth up to a third of the income tax for qualifying taxpayers, effectively reducing the rate toward 20% in targeted zones.

The company forms are straightforward, and foreign investors register with the National Registry of Foreign Investments. Payroll and social-security costs, while real, remain competitive versus the U.S. and Western Europe.

The headline 30% is thus a starting point that IMMEX, the nearshoring decree and regional credits can meaningfully lower for an export-oriented operation.

How does USMCA access amplify Mexico’s appeal?

A Mexican manufacturing base sits inside the USMCA (United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement) free-trade area, allowing qualifying goods to enter the U.S. and Canada with preferential or zero tariffs. For a firm from outside North America, producing in Mexico can be the most efficient way to serve U.S. customers while avoiding the tariffs a direct import might face.

This trade access, combined with geographic proximity and integrated logistics, is why so many Asian and European manufacturers have built Mexican operations. The value is not just low cost but tariff-advantaged, just-in-time access to the world’s largest consumer market.

Rules of origin matter — qualifying for USMCA preferences requires meeting regional-content thresholds — so structuring the supply chain correctly is part of the plan.

Who is Mexico best and worst suited for?

Mexico is outstanding for export manufacturers — automotive, electronics, aerospace, appliances, medical devices — that serve the U.S. market and can use IMMEX, the nearshoring decree and USMCA access. Its labour, logistics and supplier ecosystem make it the premier nearshoring platform for North America.

It is less suited to purely digital or services micro-founders with no physical or export dimension, and firms must weigh security, bureaucracy and currency considerations that vary by region. Choosing the right state and industrial park materially affects the experience.

For a manufacturing or assembly business targeting North America, though, few countries match Mexico’s combination of cost, access and incentives.

How do you sequence a Mexican entry?

The efficient order is: confirm your activity qualifies for 100% ownership and IMMEX; choose a state and industrial park on labour, logistics and local incentives; incorporate an S.A. de C.V. or S. de R.L.; obtain IMMEX and CIVA certification for duty- and VAT-free imports; and structure new-asset purchases to capture the 41%–91% nearshoring depreciation before the 2030 window closes.

Because the accelerated depreciation and training deduction are time-limited, timing capital expenditure within the incentive window is part of the plan. State development agencies and specialist shelter-service providers can compress the setup.

Align the supply chain with USMCA rules of origin from the start so your exports qualify for preferential access.

The bottom line for foreign founders eyeing Mexico

Mexico is North America’s premier nearshoring platform: IMMEX duty- and VAT-free imports, a 2025 nearshoring decree offering 41%–91% accelerated depreciation through 2030, regional tax credits that can cut the ~30% rate toward 20%, and tariff-advantaged USMCA access to the U.S. It suits export manufacturers best. Confirm IMMEX eligibility, choose the right state, and time capital spending within the incentive window.

What does it cost and take to set up in Mexico?

A Mexican entry begins with incorporating an S.A. de C.V. or S. de R.L. before a notary, registering with the tax authority (SAT) for an RFC, and enrolling in the National Registry of Foreign Investments. For a manufacturer, IMMEX and CIVA certification follow, and many foreign entrants use a shelter-service provider to operate under an existing IMMEX umbrella while they establish their own. Costs cover incorporation and notary fees, professional and legal advisory, and the operational build-out of a plant or leased space in an industrial park. Labour and land are competitive, particularly versus the U.S., and state agencies frequently add training grants and infrastructure support. The setup is well-trodden, and specialist providers can have an export operation running within a few months, but the IMMEX and USMCA compliance layers reward experienced local help.

How does Mexico compare with other nearshoring bases?

Mexico’s defining advantage is its combination of USMCA membership, a land border with the U.S., and a mature manufacturing and supplier ecosystem — a package no other emerging market matches for serving North America. Against Asian production bases, it offers dramatically shorter shipping times, tariff-advantaged access and easier time-zone alignment with U.S. customers; against U.S. domestic production, it offers materially lower labour costs. The trade-offs are security and bureaucracy considerations that vary sharply by region, and currency exposure. For a firm whose customers are in the U.S. and Canada, though, Mexico’s nearshoring proposition — reinforced by the 2025 fiscal decree — is currently one of the most compelling in the world, which is why supply chains are actively relocating there.

Which founders should think twice about Mexico?

Mexico is built around export manufacturing and North-American trade, so a purely digital or services micro-founder with no physical footprint or U.S.-market angle will capture little of what makes it special and may find simpler jurisdictions elsewhere. Security and regulatory conditions vary by state, and choosing the wrong location can materially affect operations, so due diligence on the specific region matters. Currency volatility and the compliance demands of IMMEX and USMCA rules of origin also reward scale and professional support. For an export manufacturer serving North America, none of this offsets the advantages; for a small, location-agnostic digital business, the nearshoring incentives are largely irrelevant and a lighter base may fit better.

How should a Turkish or Balkan founder approach Mexico?

For an exporter from Türkiye or the Balkans, Mexico is best understood as a production platform for the U.S. and Canadian markets rather than a destination market in itself. Establishing a Mexican manufacturing operation lets you serve North-American customers with short lead times and, where rules of origin are met, tariff-advantaged USMCA access — often a decisive edge over shipping finished goods from Europe or Asia. The practical path is to work with Mexico’s investment offices and a shelter or setup provider to select a border or Bajío-region state, secure IMMEX certification, and time capital investment to capture the nearshoring depreciation before 2030. Treated as a strategic North-American beachhead, Mexico can transform an exporter’s competitiveness in the world’s largest consumer market.

What ongoing obligations shape a Mexican operation?

A Mexican company files monthly and annual tax returns, manages VAT (with IMMEX exporters using the CIVA credit mechanism), administers payroll and mandatory profit-sharing (PTU) and social-security contributions, and maintains IMMEX reporting to preserve its duty- and VAT-free import privileges. USMCA exports require documentation to substantiate rules of origin. This compliance is manageable but genuinely multi-layered, blending tax, customs and trade obligations, which is why most foreign manufacturers retain specialist local support or operate through a shelter provider that handles the administrative burden. Kept current, these obligations are simply the cost of accessing one of the world’s most advantageous nearshoring positions; neglected, they can jeopardise the IMMEX benefits that make the operation worthwhile.

Frequently Asked Questions