The European Union and Mexico completed a major 'upgrade' of their Free Trade Agreement on April 28. This is a modernization of the Agreement, which entered into force earlier in 2000. The EU-Mexico negotiators reached a first agreement two years ago, but Mexico's change of president at the end of 2018 appears to have slowed down progress on finalizing the last remaining topic. This new trade agreement means that almost all trade in goods between the EU and Mexico will now be duty free.

"Trade can and should be a win-win situation, and that is exactly what this agreement demonstrates. Mexico and the EU have worked together and the outcome has been mutually beneficial. With this agreement, Mexico joins Canada, Japan and Singapore in the growing list of partners that are willing to work with the EU in defending an open, fair and rules-based trading system". Stated Jean-Claude Juncker, former President of the European Commission during the trade negotiations in 2018.

Once completed and adopted, the agreement reached will bring benefits to businesses and consumers across Europe and boost the values that the EU intends to promote through its trade policy.

About the Mexico - EU trade agreement

98% of the products will no longer be subject to import duties, a benefit of €100 million for the EU. For the Netherlands, tariff liberalization is particularly important for agricultural products, such as dairy products, poultry, egg products, flower bulbs and cereals. The EU industry will also benefit from simplified customs procedures, including sectors such as medicines, machinery and means of transport.

In the following press realease at the website of the European Commission, published in 2018, you can read more about the most important elements of this trade agreement.

Mexico is an important trading partner of the EU

Since the previous EU-Mexico trade agreement entered into force in 2000, trade between the EU and Mexico has increased by approximately 8% annually, leading to an overall 148% increase in trade in goods. Mexico is the EU's most important trading partner in Latin America. Bilateral trade in goods was worth €66 billion last year. Trade in services represents a further €19 billion.

Further developments Mexico and EU trade agreement

The legal revision of the agreement is currently being finalized. Once this has been done, the agreement will be translated into all EU languages. Once the translations are finished, the Commission's proposal for the signature and conclusion of the agreement will be transmitted to the Council of the EU and the European Parliament. Finally, the agreement will be submitted to the EU Member States for approval.

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Source: European Commission

07 May 2020 at 11:06 am

02 04 24

4 min