The EU and Mexico signed a revamped commerce settlement on Friday at a summit in Mexico Metropolis, attended by Fee President Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council António Costa.
The signing follows the conclusion of negotiations on the renewed commerce deal in January 2025. The unique entered into drive in 2000.
“It will likely be our first summit in additional than a decade, and in the meanwhile, when the worldwide order is taking a heavy beating, that is about extra than simply commerce. It’s a geopolitical assertion,” the EU’s prime diplomat Kaja Kallas stated on Thursday forward of the summit.
The EU exports €53 billion in items and €20.3 billion in companies to Mexico, in accordance with European Fee information, making Mexico one in all its important buying and selling companions in Latin America, alongside Brazil.
Whereas the bloc can also be an necessary associate for Mexico – its third largest – it nonetheless trails far behind Washington, the nation’s important buying and selling associate, with 80% of Mexican exports destined for the US.
The summit and signing of the brand new deal additionally come as Canada and Mexico search to modernise their commerce settlement, the USMCA, with an preliminary deadline for negotiations pencilled in for 1 July, although talks might run past that date.
The delay of greater than a 12 months between the conclusion of negotiations and the signing of the EU-Mexico deal has raised questions on potential reluctance to finalise the partnership for concern of triggering a response from the US.
Briefing journalists on Friday, a European Fee official dismissed such issues, saying the delays have been as a consequence of “translation and authorized scrubbing”, whereas noting that the “political second” for signing needed to swimsuit either side.
Along with the revamped commerce deal, the Fee will current an funding plan beneath the International Gateway umbrella, the Fee’s growth funding initiative.
The plan covers sectors reminiscent of vitality transition, transport, prescribed drugs and well being, water, agriculture, and digital transition.
Agri-food wins
The agri-food sector can be one of many largest winners of the modernised settlement, in accordance with the Fee.
“The foremost affect is within the agricultural area, which was not lined to the identical extent as in different agreements within the 2000 model,” the official added.
The settlement removes tariffs on key European agricultural exports, together with pork, dairy, cereals, fruit, and pasta, whereas the EU will lower tariffs on Mexican merchandise reminiscent of espresso, fruit, chocolate, and agave syrup.
The deal additionally protects a whopping 336 extra conventional meals names, stopping imitations from being bought on the Mexican market.
However when requested concerning the potential affect of such concessions on the USMCA framework – significantly because the US has pushed again in opposition to protections for conventional meals in agreements with different international locations – the Fee once more dismissed issues.
“All these agreements are complementary,” an EU official stated.
Different new components embrace cooperation on digital commerce and inexperienced transition, in addition to commitments on truthful commerce and demanding minerals.
EU races to lock in Mexico cope with Washington looming
The EU is about to signal its revamped commerce settlement with Mexico subsequent week, as…
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