Nuevo Laredo stands out due to its privileged location, its infrastructure, its international trade bridges with a great amount of merchandise that crosses


Nuevo Laredo is also Mexico’s most important land border since during 2009 the movement of foreign trade in both directions reached a total commercial value of more than 89 billion dollars in merchandise.
For the Institute for Competiveness and Foreign Trade of Nuevo Leon, the agency that is in charge of attracting investment and talent to the area as well as for the establishment of conditions necessary for competitiveness in the public and private sectors, the city has a strategic position, since it is the border closest to Mexico City and it is the crossing point for National Highway 85 (Mexico/Laredo) which hooks up with IH 35 in the United States, thus connecting it to the main centers of production and distribution in both countries. It is also located just two hours from Monterrey and two hours from San Antonio, Texas.
It is estimated that more than 38% of total International trade activity from Mexico to foreign countries crosses over this border.


In Nuevo Laredo import and export services are offered by trucks and train, as well as distribution of freight and consultant services thus making it the most important International Trade land port in America, since more than 7 thousand trucks and one thousand 500 boxcars cross each day.
According to information provided by the Mexican Customs Agency, an average of more than 3 thousand 500 import freight vehicles and 2 thousand 500 export boxcars cross the border daily through Nuevo Laredo.
Idolina Hernández who is the Director of the Committee for Industrial Development of Nuevo Laredo (CODEIN), an agency with the main objective of developing the city industrially, as indicated by its name, stated that city has a privileged location when compared to other border cities since it has a manufacturing, medical and automotive industrial vocation and it stands out as a very profitable city for the maquilador sector.
“Highway 35 in Laredo, which runs all the way to Canada, is used by companies that send their merchandise to the coastal areas, New York or Chicago. They choose to use the customs offices in this city,
which makes us more competitive”, stated Hernandez who pointed out that the Laredo Region stands out since it is found among the Top Ten most important crossings in the United States.


“Although we do not have a seaport and all imports and exports are done by land, we rank above Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and Savannah”, stated the director.
According to information from Mexican Customs, companies such as General Motors, Chrysler, Jabir Ciruit de México, Volkswagen de México, Mex Peñoles, AAM Maquiladora México, Sanmina SCI Systems, Delphi, Nissan, Sony Nuevo Laredo, Whirlpool International, Ternium and Mabe, among many others, are some of the companies that were the largest exporters using that crossing in 2009.



Customs Specialists

Nuevo Laredo is the city that borders on Laredo, Texas and there are more than 450 customs agencies and more than 500 transportation lines distributed between both cities, which emphasizes the city’s ability to support foreign trade.
Héctor Bolaños Calzado, President of the Bolaños y Asociados Customs Agency, which has offered its import and export services, distribution, storage, installation of production plants and lines and specialized customs consultation since 1928, expressed that Nuevo Leon is one of the economic forces helping the country’s economy, through the federal government and that it also collaborates with the Secretary of the Economy in the collection of customs taxes and the Added Value Tax.


He pointed out that the role of a customs agent is to provide the exporter or importer with the requirements that must be fulfilled according to that indicated in the Federal Tax Law and in the corresponding Fiscal Code.
“We collaborate with companies in order for them to fulfill the customs and legal guidelines. The benefits that users obtain upon having a certified agent is that the agent, along with the importer or exporter, is responsible when there is an error, an incorrect classification or neglect by the personnel”, stated Bolaños who pointed out that companies must verify that customs agents are really in the business, that they are up to date and trained in changes in the customs laws in order to be a part of global competitiveness.
“Our services are very versatile and we provide assessment concerning the entire Customs Law and its procedures. We handle all types of merchandise, and if there is good coordination with the client, we try to make the crossing as immediate as possible, in one day”, stated Bolaños who added that the agency has two warehouses that provide a total of 189,000 square feet to hold merchandise until it fulfills the requirements necessary for importation or exportation.


At present, the agency takes care of approximately 400 clients who include importers as well as exporters and it exports between 100 and 110 trucks daily and imports an average of 55 trucks a day.
“We are present in Nuevo Laredo, Laredo Texas, Piedras Negras, Altamira, Veracruz, Manzanillo, Mexico City, Guadalajara and many more sites”, stated Bolaños.
PCR is another customs agency that offers a wide range of services related to foreign trade, including loading and unloading merchandise, inventory of the same, receipt and shipment of packages, logistics and transportation, the distribution of materials and maneuvers with specialized equipment.
Eduardo Quintanilla, General Manager of the company, indicated that it has experts in Customs Laws as well as an international legal office for all types of assessment on importing and exporting to any part of the world.
“Among the advantages that companies obtain by using our services is that we offer our customers inventories, which they can check on the Internet, and safety through the use of the best transportation companies in the United States, Mexico and Canada for shipping their merchandise”, stated Quintanilla, who indicated that some companies normally contract the services of agencies that are not consolidated and registered on both sides of the border between the United States and Mexico, which can sometimes cause problems with customs due to deficient knowledge of import and export laws and this can result in very large fines or the cancellation of their import program or the loss of the importing company’s goods.


Quintanilla pointed out that PCR’s main customers are exporters of steel used in the manufacture of automotive parts and appliance parts, as well as customers who handle dangerous materials for the air industry such as degreasers.
On the average, PCR imports more than 500 tons of different materials, with an approximate value of more than 9 million pesos.
The company has a 10,000 square foot warehouse and a patio that can be used for parking 20 trucks and it has customs agents in Monterrey, Puebla, and Mexico City.
Another company focused on worldwide international commerce with more than a half a century of experience is Prida Consorcio Aduanal.


“Foreign trade operations for businessmen in Mexico and in foreign countries, specialized transportation, re-issuing loads, coordination of land, rail, sea or air logistics from any part of the world, contracting insurance and custodies and personalized assessment of each of our clients are some of the basic activities provided in our outsourcing area”, specified Gonzalo Prida, the agency’s Substitute Customs Agent.
“Our purpose is to support the fulfillment our company’s objectives, to supervise and correctly comply with valid Mexican foreign trade laws and regulations”, stated the director who also mentioned that by using their services, companies avoid omitting import permits, the incorrect application of the tariffs as tax barriers and non-compliance with sanitary and quality standards that do not permit the sale of products that have not been manufactured specifically for the country inside of that country.


Prida is present in the Mexico’s main ports and borders, including Veracruz, Nuevo Laredo, Altamira, Manzanillo, Coatzacoalcos, the International Airport in Mexico City, Colombia Nuevo León, Querétaro, as well as in the International Airport in Toluca, and the Terminal in Laredo, Texas.



Requirements for the Registration of Certified Companies



When dealing with Companies

• Imports through Customs in an amount of more than $300,000,000 during the semester before application for registration.

• Application with the Central Administration of the Customs Regulation of the AGA, where guidelines are fulfilled that are established for certified companies on the Customs page.

• Attach to that previously mentioned, a copy of:

• Articles of Incorporation.

• Fiscal Identification Card.

• Certificate of documentation proving the legal power of attorney of the person making the request

• Financial statements that are audited and certified by the auditor.

• Form 5 “General Declaration of Payment of Fees”.



Héctor Bolaños, President of the Bolaños and Associates Customs Agency where 129 people work on the American side and 75 in Mexico. It has national coverage for any land, sea or air customs port in the country.
Idolina Hernández, Director of the Industrial Development Committee for Nuevo Laredo (CODEIN)
Nuevo Laredo is the most important land border in Mexico. During 2009, foreign trade movement in both directions was superior to 89 billion dollars in the commercial value of merchandise.

Gonzalo Prida, Substitute Customs Agent at the agency.



Contacto

CODEIN

Idolina Hernández

Director

(867) 712-3437



Agencia Aduanal Bolaños

y Asociados in Laredo Texas.

Melissa de la Garza / Carlos Martínez and Ma. Teresa Bolaños

(001- 956) 722-0976



Prida

Gonzalo Prida

Substitute Customs Agent

( 001-956) 790-9117