The European Union and Mexico concluded talks on the last unresolved part of the negotiations on a new trade agreement between the two parties, the European Commission announced it. Under the new agreement, virtually all trade in goods between the EU and Mexico will be duty-free.
EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan and Mexican Minister of Economy Graciela Márquez Colín, in a phone call, agreed on the exact scope for mutual opening of public procurement markets and a high level of predictability and transparency in public procurement processes. This means that the EU and Mexico can sign and ratify a new trade agreement.
According to the European Commission, under the new agreement, virtually all trade in goods between the EU and Mexico will be duty-free. Furthermore, it is the first time that the EU has agreed with a Latin American country on investment protection issues. Brussels stresses that simpler customs procedures will further increase exports.
The new trade agreement with Mexico is an update of the Treaty of 2000, which only covers industrial goods, services, government procurement, investment and agricultural products such as Mexican chickens and European dairy products.
The new agreement is all the more important given that Mexico is the EU’s largest trading partner in Latin America, with bilateral trade in goods worth €66 billion (in 2019) and trade in services worth €19 billion (in 2018). Community exports exceeded €39 billion per year. Moreover, as the EC points out, trade in goods between the EU and Mexico has more than tripled since the original trade agreement entered into force in 2001. According to Brussels, the new trade agreement will help to accelerate this strong historical growth.
Details of the new EU-Mexico trade agreement can be found on the European Commission’s website.
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