EU–Mexico 2025: EUR.1 ends, REX registration required
The scenario every exporter should picture
Imagine you’ve been preparing a Mexican export deal for months. The goods are ready, the invoice is issued, and without hesitation you attach the EUR.1 certificate from customs. Then comes the shock: it will no longer be accepted.
This change is just around the corner. The new EU–Mexico Free Trade Agreement completely reshapes the rules of origin. While the document is still awaiting official signature, the text is final. That means: exporters must start preparing now.
Origin declaration instead of EUR.1 – with REX number
Until now, exporters had to request an EUR.1 certificate from customs to benefit from tariff preferences towards Mexico. That option is disappearing.
In the new system, preferential treatment is based on an origin declaration on the invoice:
Who can make the origin declaration
| Case / country | Required document | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Under €6,000 | Anyone can make the declaration | No REX number required. |
| Above €6,000 | Only exporters with a REX number (Registered Exporter) | Registration with your customs authority is mandatory. |
The official wording of the declaration
“The exporter of the products covered by this document (REX number …) declares that, except where otherwise clearly indicated, these products are of European Union preferential origin.”
👉 Check now: do you already have a REX number? If not, request it from your customs authority before you miss out.
👉 Unsure how to start? Contact us here and we’ll guide you step by step.
Easier rules: why SMEs benefit
One of the biggest winners of this modernization is small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Many strict rules have been relaxed, meaning more products can qualify for preferences.
Relaxed thresholds that help SMEs
30% → 40%
Food industry: the sugar cap increased – a candy manufacturer or soft drink mixer can now more easily qualify.
up to 50%
Plastics: the old 20–25% ceiling has been raised to 50% non-originating materials. A huge advantage for plastic processors.
8%
Textiles: an 8% weight tolerance on mixed fibers makes compliance easier for sewing workshops and small textile companies.
up to 20%
Feed and pet food: companies can now use up to 20% non-originating cereals.
👉 If you’re an SME, this is the moment to review your entire product range. You may find tariff preferences available for items you never considered before.
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Losers: where rules got tougher
Not every sector will celebrate these changes. Some will face stricter requirements:
Sectors facing stricter requirements
| Case / country | Required document | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Dairy | A new 20% cap on non-originating milk powder and protein | Tough for sports nutrition and protein bar makers. |
| Sugar-heavy industries | Some products keep a strict 10% cap on non-originating sugar | |
| Beverages | Wines and spirits must use wholly originating grapes/fruits | Imported must is excluded. |
| Textiles quota | Printing is accepted more widely, but remains subject to quotas | e.g. 2 million m² cotton fabrics annually. |
👉 If you are affected, request new supplier declarations immediately, especially if you source milk ingredients (Chapter 04) from outside the EU.
👉 Unsure if your products qualify? Get in touch with us to check.
Pitfalls: what exporters and brokers must watch
The rules are more flexible, but the traps are real. Multiple limits apply: e.g. a 2106 food product may face both a sugar cap and a dairy cap simultaneously.
You can lose the preference even when each single cap looked fine.
Technical definitions: new requirements like “chemical reaction” or “purification” in chemicals.
You’ll need manufacturing records to prove it.
HS classification: for plastics and textiles, the correct HS code can make or break preferential treatment.
A wrong code can sink your preferential treatment.
Declaration errors: one wrong REX number.
Lost preference.
👉 Now is the time to review your export portfolio, supplier declarations, and recipes.
👉 Don’t wait until your first rejected shipment – contact us and let’s review your case together.
🔑 REX number vs. Approved Exporter
Many confuse the two, but under the new agreement they are not the same.
REX number vs. Approved Exporter under EU–Mexico
| EU exporters | Mexican companies | |
|---|---|---|
| EUR.1 certificate | Ending | Ending |
| Approved Exporter status | Will no longer exist in EU–Mexico trade | — |
| System to use from now on | REX number | The “certified exporter” system remains, but applies only to Mexican companies |
Key terms
- EUR.1
- The movement certificate exporters had to request from customs to benefit from tariff preferences towards Mexico. It is ending under the new agreement.
- REX (Registered Exporter)
- The registration that allows an EU exporter to make an origin declaration on the invoice for consignments above €6,000. EU exporters must use a REX number from now on.
- Approved Exporter
- A status that will no longer exist in EU–Mexico trade.
- Origin declaration
- The statement of preferential EU origin placed on the invoice, replacing the EUR.1 certificate.
- HS code
- The Harmonized System classification code; for plastics and textiles the correct HS code can make or break preferential treatment.
👉 If you only exported to Mexico before and don’t have a REX number, register now with your customs authority.
👉 Subscribe to our newsletter and we’ll show you step by step how to issue correct REX declarations.
Conclusion: act now
The EU–Mexico Agreement marks a new era for exporters.
What changes
- EUR.1 disappears.
- REX becomes the foundation.
- SMEs get more flexibility (food, plastics, textiles, feed).
- Some industries face stricter limits (dairy, sugar, beverages, textiles quota).
Your next steps
- 1
Verify your REX number
- 2
Review supplier declarations
Especially for dairy and sugar inputs.
- 3
Subscribe to our newsletter
To get timely, practical tips.
- 4
Contact us here
If you want to secure your exports to Mexico.
Related articles
Frequently asked questions
Is EUR.1 still valid for exports to Mexico?
Who can make the origin declaration?
What is the difference between a REX number and Approved Exporter status?
Which sectors benefit from the relaxed rules?
Which sectors face stricter requirements?
👉 Subscribe to our newsletter to get timely, practical tips.
👉 Contact us here if you want to secure your exports to Mexico.