Sheinbaum Defends Customs Gains as 2026 Collection Slides 10%

Longer operating windows, roughly 1,000 new officers and tighter surveillance have improved throughput at Mexico's ports of entry, the president argues, even as foreign trade tax revenue contracts in real terms.

President Claudia Sheinbaum pushed back on the narrative that Mexico's customs network is underperforming, arguing that extended operating schedules, a fresh intake of personnel and reinforced monitoring mechanisms have made ports of entry both faster and more effective at collecting duties. The defense comes despite tax revenue generated at those facilities accumulating a real annual decline over the first seven months of 2026.

Figures from the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM) show that Mexico's 50 customs offices collected MX$791.01 billion (US$45.46 billion) between January and July 2026, a 10% real annual contraction. The shortfall has persisted despite the Customs Law overhaul that took effect on Jan. 1, a package explicitly designed to lift collection without introducing new taxes.

July offered a partial reprieve. Tax revenue reached MX$131.62 billion (US$7.57 billion) that month, 8.7% above June and the strongest monthly result recorded so far this year. The rebound follows a pattern of volatility that has defined the year: customs revenue fell for two consecutive months at the start of 2026, with January-February collection down 13% in real terms, before March produced a rebound that failed to reverse a 7.9% first-quarter decline.

Round-the-Clock Schedules and a New Intake

Speaking at her morning press conference, Sheinbaum said that facilities previously operating roughly 10 hours a day have moved to continuous 24-hour schedules, a change intended to accelerate cargo movement and shorten queues at the gate. Her reasoning is straightforward: long lines slow entry, while continuous operation allows more merchandise through, gets it to its destination faster and, by extension, generates more collection.

The president also highlighted the incorporation of approximately 1,000 new officials into ANAM. The recruitment drive targeted recent university graduates in specific disciplines, who were required to pass examinations and clear vetting procedures before being assigned to customs offices. Sheinbaum framed the intake as a way to bring in staff without inherited operational habits, and said her oversight extends beyond revenue figures to how many hours cargo sits inside a facility before release.

That metric matters commercially. Dwell time has been a persistent pain point for shippers, with importers absorbing logistics overruns of up to 20% at Manzanillo following prolonged clearance inefficiencies, according to COMCE Occidente.

Tariff Front-Loading Distorts the Baseline

Sheinbaum attributed a meaningful share of the revenue swing to timing rather than enforcement failure. Congress approved higher duties on goods from countries without trade agreements with Mexico, and importers responded by pulling shipments forward. December 2025 became an unusually strong collection month as cargo entered ahead of the new rates, leaving thinner volumes in the months that followed.

The measure in question imposed duties of up to 50% across 1,463 tariff lines effective Jan. 1, covering automotive, steel, plastics, textiles, footwear and appliances, with China positioned as the most exposed supplier. The arithmetic sits awkwardly against official projections: the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) had forecast a 62% increase in foreign trade tax revenue for 2026, reaching MX$254.76 billion. Sheinbaum has separately set an annual customs collection target of MX$1.5 trillion, up from MX$1.25 trillion in 2025, a goal reiterated when she inaugurated ANAM's new Nuevo Laredo headquarters.

Currency has worked against those targets. A materially stronger peso reduces the peso-denominated value of imported goods, compressing the taxable base for duties and VAT regardless of how efficiently a facility operates.

A Higher Compliance Bar for Operators

The revenue gap coincides with the most demanding customs framework Mexico has adopted in three decades. The reform expanded joint liability for customs brokers, converted indefinite broker licenses into ten-year renewable terms, mandated electronic value declarations and required real-time digital traceability that authorities can audit directly. It also tightened supervision of the IMMEX program, where temporary imports intended for export have historically been diverted into the domestic market without settling VAT or IEPS. Secondary rules published in February tightened digital controls and consolidated procedures through the Customs Electronic System.

Enforcement capacity is also being rebuilt around technology and data. Sheinbaum replaced ANAM's leadership with Héctor Romero, a profile drawn from digital transformation rather than traditional customs administration, placing digitalization at the center of the agency's mandate. More recently, ANAM and US Customs and Border Protection began developing real-time exchange of import and export declaration data, a mechanism aimed at cross-validating filings while targeting fuel smuggling and contraband.

For importers, brokers and manufacturers running temporary import programs, the practical question is whether round-the-clock schedules and denser digital oversight translate into shorter clearance cycles, or simply into more documentation to defend under audit. With the USMCA review approaching and tariff-driven distortions still working through the data, the remaining months of 2026 will determine whether July's rebound marks a genuine turning point or a seasonal outlier.