Economy issues emergency regulation for hydraulic cements and their mandatory certification

The Ministry of Economy published this Monday, November 2, 2026, the Emergency Official Mexican Standard NOM-EM-023-SE-2026, “Cement industry-Hydraulic cements-Quality specifications, test methods and commercial information,” which mandates the certification of all hydraulic cement manufactured, imported, or marketed within the national territory. The standard appears in the Official Gazette of the Federation (publication number 299/2026, Ministry of Economy section, page 40) and was signed on October 26, 2026, by the Director General of Standards, Lilian Aurora Pérez Ornelas, who is also president of the National Standardization Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Economy (CCONNSE).

An emergency standard in the face of structural risks

The instrument is issued based on Article 31 of the Quality Infrastructure Law, which empowers standardizing authorities to issue emergency standards to prevent imminent damage or mitigate existing damage to a legitimate objective of public interest. The official preamble warns that non-certified cement produces low or zero compressive strength, fire resistance, and adhesion between reinforcing steel and the cementitious material, which generates “fragile infrastructure, sensitive to loads, with lower durability and structural resistance” and high risk for people.

The document also identifies an environmental problem: the emergence of cements that do not meet minimum requirements implies the displacement of ecosystems and the burning of vegetation, among other impacts.

The size of the irregular market, in official figures

According to information obtained from the legally established cement industry cited by the standard itself:

• The market controlled by companies established outside the regulatory framework represents at least 576,000 tons of cement per year.
• The direct impact on the industry is estimated at at least 3 billion pesos annually.
• Most of the imported cement is destined for cements marketed by informal companies, which may add another 2.8 billion pesos.
• The total impact on the industry is calculated at approximately 5.8 billion pesos annually.

The standard emphasizes that previous regulation did not oblige manufacturers and distributors to comply with the physical and chemical parameters of current Mexican standards, and that certification seeks to curb unfair competition from products sold artificially at low prices.

Mandatory classification, testing, and labeling

The text applies to hydraulic cements and classifies them by composition into four types: CPO (ordinary portland, 95-100% clinker plus calcium sulfate), CPP (pozzolanic, 50-94% clinker and 6-50% pozzolanic materials), CPEG (with blast furnace granulated slag), and CPC (composite portland). Based on compressive strength, strength classes 20, 30, 30R, and 40R are identified, evaluated at 28 days and, where applicable, at 3 days.

Among the mandatory physical specifications, the following stand out: a minimum compressive strength at 28 days according to the class; a minimum initial setting time of 45 minutes and a maximum final setting time of 600 minutes; and autoclave volume stability with a maximum expansion of 0.80 and a maximum shrinkage of 0.20. On the chemical level, sulfur trioxide (SO3) is limited to a maximum of 4.0% by mass, with the possibility of exceeding it only if it does not cause expansion greater than 0.020% at 14 days.

Regarding commercial information, packaged products must bear a legible label in Spanish with the generic name, business name of the producer or importer, tax address, country of origin, registered trademark, quantity in kilograms or tons, name and location of the production plant, and standardized designation; bulk products must be accompanied by an invoice or delivery note containing this data.

Certification, surveillance, and entry into force

Conformity assessment shall be carried out through Product Certification Bodies accredited and approved by the Secretaría de Economía, under two schemes: direct certification or recognition of a current certificate in accordance with NMX-C-414-ONNCCE-2017. The Product Conformity Certificate (CCP) is issued per product and production plant, is non-transferable, and is granted to importers, manufacturers, and marketers; certification bodies must report quarterly to the Secretariat and maintain files for five years. Verification and surveillance are the responsibility of the Secretaría de Economía and the Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor.

The transitional provisions establish that the standard will enter into force on the business day following its publication, but it will not be enforceable until there are sufficient accredited conformity assessment bodies, a moment that the Secretariat will announce via a statement on the Plataforma Tecnológica Integral de la Infraestructura de la Calidad. While that process is completed, the Dirección General de Normas may perform the evaluation directly, and current result reports issued in accordance with NMX-C-414-ONNCCE-2017 may be considered. The maximum validity is six months, extendable only once for an equal period, and the standard is not equivalent to any international standard.

The scope of the measure is structural for the sector: formal cement plants, importers, marketers, builders, and public works executors must demonstrate through laboratory tests that their product meets verifiable limits of strength, setting, and composition, and certification becomes a condition for being able to sell cement in the country.

Source: Official Gazette of the Federation, publication number 299/2026, Monday, November 2, 2026, Ministry of Economy section, p. 40 (official reference: NOM-EM-023-SE-2026).