Your guide to shipping products from Mexico to Canada

Shipping goods from Mexico to Canada helps you grow your business and reach new customers. In this guide we've prepared for you, we'll look at everything you need to know about shipping from Mexico to Canada. This includes customs, taxes and the best shipping companies to trust with your products.

We’ll also take a look at Wise, your money transfer alternative to bank transfers. Reduce shipping costs, spend in over 40 currencies, and access advanced features for you and your business, from one account.

An overview of the guide

Your guide to shipping products from Mexico to Canada What is the essential know-how on exporting goods from Mexico to Canada? What are the essential requirements for shipping goods from Mexico to Canada? Are there any restrictions on shipping goods from Mexico to Canada? What are the typical costs of shipping goods from Mexico to Canada? How to reduce costs on transactions between Mexico and Canada Shipping companies for exporting from Mexico to Canada Latin American Cargo (LAC) Kuehne + Nagel FedEx Essential local know-how when shipping from Mexico to Canada

What is the essential know-how on exporting goods from Mexico to Canada?

There are a few things to understand before exporting your goods to Canada from Mexico.

The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), also known as USMCA or T-MEC, is a free trade agreement between Canada, the US, and Mexico.

It took effect on 1 July 2020, helping businesses enjoy flexible trading between Canada, the US, and Mexico. CUSMA replaced the previous North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), expanding the tariff ban on goods like new technologies.¹

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) also allows for reduced tariffs and accessible trading between Canada and member countries like Mexico.²

The value of your goods determines how much duty you need to pay for your import, and you’ll pay goods and services tax (GST) at 5% for most products. However, some goods are non-taxable, such as prescription drugs.³

What are the essential requirements for shipping goods from Mexico to Canada?

You might need to understand a few requirements before sending your goods abroad. Make sure to properly pack your shipment and correctly declare your products to the Canada Border Services Agency® (CBSA).

You’ll also need to determine which tariff treatment applies to your goods – and under CPTPP, CUSMA and NAFTA, you may experience reduced rates of duty.³

You’ll need some important documents for your import, such as:

• a business number from the Canada Revenue Agency® (CRA)
• any necessary government inspections or licenses³
• a commercial invoice⁵

Your commercial invoice acts as a customs declaration, including information about the value of your goods and where they come from.⁴

Are there any restrictions on shipping goods from Mexico to Canada?

You may need to obtain additional permits or licenses for your shipment. For example, if you want to import meat products into Canada from Mexico, you’ll need to provide an Official Meat Inspection Certificate® (OMIC).⁵

Some companies also impose their own restrictions. For example, you can’t import phosphorus matches or cannabis into Canada with FedEx®.⁶

What are the typical costs of shipping goods from Mexico to Canada?

A few factors influence the cost of your shipment, including:

• the weight, size, and shape of your goods
• insurance
• customs duty and import tax
• whether you choose air, ground, or sea freight

If you pay for your shipment in Mexican pesos (MXN), you’ll need to consider currency conversion costs, as many banks will add a markup to the standard ‘real’ exchange rate when you spend in a different currency.

You may also need to pay intermediary bank fees for international payments in the SWIFT network. All of these costs can start to add up! Luckily, we have a solution for you! 👇

How to reduce costs on transactions between Mexico and Canada

Save on transactions between CAD and MXN with a multi-currency business account like Wise Business. Use our calculator below to see how much you save when making international payments:

Opening a business account at Wise is free, online and easy! With Wise, you don’t lose money to monthly subscriptions or have it held up as minimum balance. You pay only for what you use. Here’s what you get for the essential and complete version for a one-time fee of 55 CAD:

Features	Essential features - without registration fees	All features for a one time payment of 55 CAD
Send money to over 70 countries	✅	✅
Wise Business Card	✅	✅
Holding and converting money across 40 currencies at the mid-market rate	✅	✅
Minimal fees starting at 0.48%	✅	✅
Local account details to receive payments in over 20 currencies	❌	✅
Direct debit to make recurring payments	❌	✅

You can always upgrade from the essential features to avail all Wise business features for a one-time payment of 55 CAD

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It only takes a few minutes to set up your multi-currency account, and make the most of the mid-market exchange rate.

Step 1. Enter information relevant to yourself and your business.
Step 2. Share essential information about your business. This includes

• Business registration
• The business registered and trading addresses
• The industry you’re in
• Online presence
• Name, date of birth, country of residence - for all stakeholders
• Documents proving ownership of the business

Step 3. Enter essential information to verify your identity
Step 4. Set up and make a transfer as indicated on your account. Alternatively, you could pay the one-time fee and get account details in over 10 currencies.
Step 5. Wise sends you a confirmation email within 10 working days.

In case you add team members to the business account, they will need to be verified too.

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Shipping companies for exporting from Mexico to Canada

Latin American Cargo (LAC)

Latin American Cargo® (LAC) provides ground, air and sea freight shipping to and from Canada, the US, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.⁸

The provider works with businesses in a range of different industries, including food, agriculture, medical equipment and entertainment.⁷

LAC offers a few types of ground freight transportation to Canada, such as Full Truckload (FTL) and Less Than Truckload (LTL).

LAC’s ground freight services are safe and secure, but you may experience limited availability of trucks authorized to travel to and from Mexico, depending on when you ship.⁸

You can also use LAC to ship goods by air. This is the fastest way to transport goods, but air freight tends to be more expensive.⁹

LAC offers a selection of affordable air freight services, including:

• airport-to-airport
• door-to-door
• airport-to-door
• door-to-airport⁹

If you want to ship your goods by sea freight with LAC, Full Container Load (FCL) is best for larger volume shipments or high-value items. Less Than Container Load (LCL) is a good solution if you need more cargo to fill a container. ⁸

Ocean freight is a cost-effective solution, but it’s not always the fastest way to ship your goods to Canada.

Kuehne + Nagel

Kuehne + Nagel® specializes in road transportation between the US, Mexico and Canada, including:

• foreign trade zones (FTZ)
• cross docking
• bonded warehouses
• trans-loading
• consolidation
• de-consolidation activities¹⁰

The provider works with a range of industries and goods, like healthcare, aerospace, automotive, consumer, industrial, high-tech, and perishables.¹⁰

Kuehne + Nagel has a selection of offices across Mexico and Canada. Let’s take a closer look.

Country	City/Province
Mexico	Guadalajara
	Mexico City
	Monterrey
	San Andres Cholula
	Tijuana
	Cuautitlan Izcalli
	Querétaro
	Cienega de Flores
	Reynosa
	San José Chiapa
	Tepotzotlan
	Toluca¹¹
Canada	Calgary
	Edmonton
	Goffs
	Halifax
	Kitchener
	London
	Montreal
	Ontario
	Ottawa
	Quebec
	St. John’s
	Toronto
	Vancouver
	Windsor
	Winnipeg
	Woodstock¹¹

FedEx

FedEx is a popular shipping service for businesses across Canada and Mexico.

You can send goods to Canada within 1 to 3 business days with FedEx International Priority Express, whereas FedEx International Economy takes 2 to 5 business days.¹²

In order to claim the correct tariff treatment under CUSMA, you’ll need to provide FedEx with ‘certification of origin’ for your import. This is any information that proves your goods originate from a CUSMA country.¹³

Let’s take a look at how much it’ll cost to ship a 100 kg parcel from Mexico City to Toronto with FedEx, as seen on 6 June 2024.

You choose to ship via	You pay in MXN	You convert from CAD with Wise
FedEx International Economy	22,011.53 MXN	1,721.42 CAD
FedEx International Priority	27,954.64 MXN¹⁴	2,186.20 CAD¹⁵

CAD - MXN Exchange rates as seen on Wise on June 6 2024, at 06.19 EDT.

Essential local know-how when shipping from Mexico to Canada

It’s important to remember that your shipping service may not deliver on certain public or regional holidays, like New Year’s Day.

Some provinces may also celebrate regional holidays, such as National Patriots' Day in Quebec, which is marked on the Monday before 25 May.

Make sure to factor in these public holidays when shipping from Mexico to Canada.

Conclusion

If you want to ship products from Mexico to Canada, you must know how much your shipment will cost and how to get your goods through the CBSA.

Choose the right shipping provider for your cargo and remember to factor in any potential delays.

To start paying for your shipments in MXN or CAD – all at the mid-market rate – check out Wise!

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Sources

1. Investopedia
2. Government of Canada
3. CBSA
4. DHL
5. Government of Canada
6. FedEx - Shipping restrictions
7. Latin American Cargo
8. Latin American Cargo - Shipping services to Canada
9. Latin American Cargo - Air freight shipping
10. Kuehne + Nagel - Cross-border shipping
11. Kuehne + Nagel - Locations
12. FedEx - International shipping services
13. FedEx - Shipping with FedEx
14. FedEx - Calculate shipping rates

Sources verified on 25 June 2024