EU “improves” its two-decade-old agreement with Mexico

Brussels – A little more than a month after closing negotiations on the agreement with Mercosur countries—and three days before Donald Trump takes office in the White House—the European Union has brought home the modernisation of the global agreement it has had with Mexico for more than two decades. The elimination of Mexican tariffs on imports from the EU, such as food and agricultural products, and the removal of non-tariff barriers to trade are the “main improvements” described by the Commission, according to which the agreement simplifies exports to Mexico and will benefit all EU companies and, especially, those that produce and sell agri-food products, machinery, mineral fuels and related products, pharmaceuticals, and transportation equipment.

“EU exporters, including our farmers and agribusinesses, will gain new trade opportunities. This historic agreement shows that open and rules-based trade can bring prosperity and economic security, as well as climate action and sustainable development. I look forward to working with president Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo to deliver on the promise of this agreement,” commented the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

According to data, EU-Mexico trade in goods reached €82 billion in 2023, while bilateral trade in services reached €22 billion in 2022, making Mexico the EU’s second-largest trading partner in Latin America. But the American country imposes tariffs on imported EU-made products that go as high as 100 per cent, such as on pasta (currently subject to tariffs of up to 20 per cent), chocolate and confectionery (over 20 per cent), blue cheese (up to 20 per cent), potatoes (up to 20 per cent), canned apples and peaches (up to 20 per cent), eggs (45 per cent), pork products (up to 45 per cent, except pork loins), and economically significant poultry products (up to 100 per cent): All tariffs Mexico will eliminate in the final implementation phase of the modernized agreement reached today. And, again with regard to the agri-food sector, the EU executive specifies that the agreement “will expand the protection of European traditional and iconic products (Geographical Indications) to 568″; and “will make agri-food exports faster and cheaper through simpler procedures.”

In the EU executive’s intentions, then, the new agreement will support the EU’s green and digital transition—given the Central American country’s richness in zinc, copper, antimony and manganese—because, among other elements, it “helps grow EU services exports in key sectors, such as financial services, transport, e-commerce and telecommunications.” “It strengthens the supply chain of critical local raw materials while improving the competitiveness of European industry” and “will eliminate non-tariff barriers and establish a level playing field, for example, on intellectual property rights.

“In addition, the agreement has a chapter on trade and sustainable development that “establishes legally binding commitments on labour rights, environmental protection, climate change, and responsible business conduct” and “will be subject to a specific dispute settlement procedure, ensuring the effective implementation of these provisions” and, finally, aims to promote cooperation between the EU and Mexico on human rights, combating drugs and organized crime, and promoting and protecting multilateralism.

The text will be subject to a final legal review, after which the EU and Mexico will initiate their respective conclusion and ratification procedures. But in the meantime, the agreement draws praise from the European Parliament’s rapporteur for relations with Mexico and the chairmen of the International Trade and Foreign Affairs committees, according to whom “the economic benefits for both sides are clear,” with a possible increase in EU exports “of 75 per cent” and savings for companies of “up to €100 million a year in customs duties.”

An agreement that, on the heels of Trump’s inauguration into the White House, also has a geopolitical flavour: “Despite growing tariff threats, Mexico and the EU are strengthening their commitment to open, fair, and rules-based trade. The modernised agreement provides a renewed platform for coordination on future challenges, which is particularly important given that the EU and Mexico are both in the crossfire of Trump’s tariff threats,” comments Bernd Lange, a German socialist and chair of the EU Parliament’s International Trade Committee.