Clothing manufacturer in Bangladesh for Mexican brands

Duty: the 2026 tariff reform

A presidential decree published in Mexico’s official gazette on 19 December 2024 raised the duty temporarily, until 23 April 2026, to 35% on 138 tariff lines of finished clothing, including t-shirts, blouses, shirts, trousers, denim, skirts, dresses, underwear, socks, jackets and coats, and to 15% on 17 lines of textiles, for countries without a Mexican trade agreement. Since 1 January 2026 the rates have come from a reform of the tariff of the General Import and Export Tax Law (LIGIE), passed by Congress and published on 29 December 2025 with no end date, which changed the duty on 1,463 tariff lines from the same countries, textiles and apparel among them, at rates of up to 50%. Of the 255 knitted and woven clothing lines it lists (tariff chapters 61 and 62), 154 are at 35%, 95 at 25% and the other six between 30% and 45%; cotton t-shirts, sweatshirts, shirts and trousers are at 35%.

Bangladesh has no trade agreement with Mexico, so its garments pay these rates. The exact duty depends on the eight-digit Mexican tariff line and the rules have changed twice in two years, so have your customs broker (agente aduanal) confirm the current rate for each style before you price your range.

Register before the first shipment

Mexico controls textile and apparel imports through its importer registry. To import goods from chapters 50 to 63 you must first be in the general importers’ registry (Padrón de Importadores) and then in Sector 11, “Textil y Confección”, of the registry of specific sectors. That requires an active tax registration (RFC), a valid e.firma and being up to date with tax obligations, and the tax authority (SAT) has up to 10 working days to respond.

Goods arriving before the registration is in place cannot be cleared, so start it while samples are still being made, not when the bulk order ships.

Labels in Spanish: NOM-004-SE-2021

Clothing sold in Mexico must be labelled under NOM-004-SE-2021, in force since 14 January 2023, which applies to textile products with at least 50% textile content by mass. The label must carry, in Spanish, the fibre composition with percentages and generic fibre names, care instructions, size, country of origin, and the name and tax details of the manufacturer or importer.

The factory produces the permanent labels to your approved artwork, so send the Spanish text and your importer details with the tech pack and the garments arrive ready for sale.

Landed cost and IVA

Mexican import charges are calculated in cascade. Duty (IGI) is charged on the customs value. The customs processing fee (DTA) is generally 0.8% of the customs value. IVA at 16% is then charged on the customs value plus the duty and the DTA. IVA is recoverable for a registered business, but it has to be paid at the border before the goods are released.

When Bangladesh still makes sense

At 35% duty, Bangladesh competes on equal terms with the other large origins that have no Mexican agreement, including China and India, which pay the same rates. It is at a disadvantage against suppliers that qualify for a Mexican trade agreement: USMCA partners, and members of agreements such as the CPTPP where the product meets the agreement’s origin rules.

Bangladesh still wins where its price advantage is larger than the duty gap: cotton knitwear, basics and denim in volume. For small, fashion-led or fast-replenishment ranges, the 35% plus the long sea route usually point elsewhere, and we will tell you so.

Shipping

Mexican orders ship by sea from Chattogram with transshipment, usually to a Pacific port such as Manzanillo, with a long transit that needs planning well before the season. Ask us for FOB and DDP side by side, and remember that under DDP the importer of record still has to be registered in Sector 11.

How the trade has moved through the tariff changes

UN Comtrade records US$729 million of Mexican imports from Bangladesh in 2025, US$333 million of it woven apparel and US$322 million knitted, while Bangladesh’s own export figures put clothing shipments to Mexico at US$298.34 million in FY2025–26 (July 2025 to June 2026), 10.29% less than the year before. The duty increases of December 2024 and January 2026 apply to every origin without a Mexican trade agreement, so they moved Bangladesh’s price relative to Mexican and US-made goods but not relative to the other Asian origins Mexican retailers buy from.

Working with us from Mexico

Mexico is twelve hours behind Bangladesh, so a brief sent at the end of your day is on our desk at the start of ours, and we reply within one working day. Goods ship by sea from Chattogram to Manzanillo or Lázaro Cárdenas on the Pacific side, or to Veracruz via the Atlantic; we quote FOB Chattogram or DDP to your warehouse, in US dollars, and you can ask for the 35% duty, the 0.8% DTA and 16% IVA to be written on the quote so your customs broker can check the landed cost line by line.

• Factory named before production, with its address, audit report and Accord status
• Spanish-language label to NOM-004-SE-2021 approved on the pre-production sample
• Sector 11 importer registration before the first shipment, which is yours to obtain
• Quality checks on the line and the AQL final inspection report, then invoice, packing list, transport document and origin documents