Voluntary Report - public distribution

**Date:** 11/16/2005

**GAIN Report Number:** MX5103

MX0000

**Mexico**

**Sugar**

**U.S. Fructose under Import Permit Requirements**

**2005**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Susanne E. Heinen

U.S. Embassy Mexico City

**Prepared by:**

Dulce Flores

**Report Highlights:**

On November 9 and November 11, 2005, The Secretariat of Economy (SE)
announced in the *Diario Oficial* (Federal Register), the criteria to
import U.S. fructose, subject to an import permit issued by SE.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Mexico \[MX1\]

\[MX\]

**Introduction:** This report summarizes two announcements from the
Secretariat of Economy on the criteria to issue import permits for U.S.
fructose published in Mexico's "*Diario Oficial*" (Federal Register) on
November 9 and 11, 2005.

**Disclaimer:** This summary is based on a *cursory* review of the
subject announcement and therefore should not, under any circumstances,
be viewed as a definitive reading of the regulation in question, or of
its implications for U.S. agricultural export trade interests. In the
event of a discrepancy or discrepancies between this summary and the
complete regulation or announcement as published in Spanish, the latter
shall prevail.

**Titles:** Agreement that established and codifies imported and
exported merchandise subject to a previous import permit issued by the
Secretariat of Economy. (11/9/05)

Agreement that modifies the notification that establishes the criteria
for the Secretariat of Economy to issue previous permits to import
fructose originating in the U.S. (11/11/05)

*(This announcement modifies some articles of the 11/9/05 publication)*

**FAS/Mexico's Executive Summary:** The Secretariat of Economy (SE)
announced in the *Diario Oficial* (Federal Register), on November 9 and
November 11, 2005, that fructose imported from the U.S. is subject to an
import permit requirement. The fructose products tariff numbers added to
this system of previous permits are: 1702.40.99, 1702.60.01, 1702.60.02,
1702.60.99, as long as these products originate in the U.S. in agreement
with NAFTA regulations. The complete list of products is as follows:

+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| **H.T.S.**       | ###### PRODUCT                                    |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| 1702.40.99       | Others                                            |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| 1702.50.01       | Chemically pure fructose                          |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| 1702.60.01       | With a fructose content, in dry form, greater     |
|                  | than 50% but less or equal to 60 %, in weight     |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| 1702.60.02       | With a fructose content, in dry form, greater     |
|                  | than 60% but less or equal to 80 %, in weight     |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| 1702.60.99       | Others                                            |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| 1702.90.99       | Others                                            |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+

The announcement also indicates that the U.S. government will notify the
SE of the list of companies that will be exporting fructose to the
Mexican market within the next 5 days after the announcement is
effective (Nov.16). Once the list is received, importers must utilize
the import permit format (SE-03-018) available at the SE offices or at
the COFEMER web page www.cofemer.gob.mx.

The announcement in the *Diario Oficial* (Federal Register) of November
11 further modifies the criteria to allow the issuing of import permits
for U.S. fructose. The General Directorate for Foreign Trade of the
Secretariat of Economy will be the entity in charge of issuing the
permits. To request an import permit, importers should hold a
certificate issued by the Corn Refiners Association from the U.S. with
the quantity requested for the permit, using commercial basis
information instead of dry basis information. To convert dry basis to
commercial basis the following conversion factors are provided:

a)  1702.40.99, dry basis /0.71;

b)  1702.60.01, dry basis /0.77;

c)  1702.60.02, dry basis /0.77;

d)  1702.60.99, dry basis /0.77.

These announcements are to comply with a previous announcement published
on September 30, 2005 where Mexico granted access to the U.S. a maximum
of 250,000 MT of fructose (See report MX5089.) However, unlike the
September 30 publication where certificates were to be valid for only 30
calendar days, the latest announcement modifies the regulations allowing
the permits issued to be valid through September 30, 2006.

**Additional Information:** Due to the on-going dispute between Mexico
and the United States on the trade of sweeteners, the Mexican government
had not published the criteria to import the fructose products mentioned
above until it deemed that the necessary conditions existed, as stated
in a publication in the *Diario Oficial*, on March 20, 2003. (See report
MX3034). Since, the U.S. granted Mexico access to 250,000 MT of sugar
under the NAFTA agreement (see report MX5102), Mexico determined that
the necessary conditions now exist, and thus announced the criteria to
import fructose from the U.S.

**Important Dates**

**1. Publication Date:** November 9, 2005 **Effective Date:** November
16, 2005 (5 working days after being published)

**2. Publication Date:** November 11, 2005 **Effective Date:** November
12, 2005 []{.mark}

**For More Information:**

AgMexico@usda.gov

*Fax:* 011-52-55-5080-2532

**Internet Connections**

*FAS Mexico Web Site:* We are available at http://www.fas-la.com/mexico
or visit our headquarter\'s home page at http://www.fas.usda.gov for a
complete selection of FAS\' worldwide agricultural reporting.

***Useful Mexican Web Sites:*** Mexico\'s equivalent of the Department
of Agriculture (SAGARPA) can be found at www.sagarpa.gob.mx and
Mexico\'s equivalent of the Department of Commerce (SE) can be found at
www.economia.gob.mx These web sites are mentioned for the readers\'
convenience but USDA does NOT in any way endorse, guarantee the accuracy
of, or necessarily concur with the information contained on the
mentioned sites.

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