Mexico-EU Free Trade Area
During his visit to Mexico at the end of April 2002, Commissioner Lamy reviewed the progress achieved in EU-Mexico trade relations following the conclusion of the EU-Mexico Free Trade Area agreement in 2000. He highlighted how: in the 1990s trade links had declined, with the EU's share of Mexican trade falling from nearly 11% in 1991 to only 6% in 1999; the Mexican-EU agreement had been a major breakthrough, since it was the quickest and most comprehensive agreement the EU had then signed; the FTA covered trade in goods, services, public procurement, intellectual property and competition issues; since the entry into force of the agreement EU exports to Mexico have increased 33% while Mexican exports to the EU have increased 50%; the EU's share of total Mexican trade has increased 20%; currently 82% of Mexican industrial product enters the EU market duty free, while duty is no longer paid on 50% of European exports to Mexico; overall Mexico is now the EU's second biggest trading partner in Latin America. Overall Commissioner Lamy concluded that the FTA agreement had allowed the EU to establish its proper position in trade with Mexico 'neutralising the distorting impact of NAFTA'. Comment: This review of EU Mexico trade highlights just what the EU is seeking through FTA policy with developing countries. In this case the agreement was primarily defensive, with the aim of neutralising the trade distorting effects of the NAFTA agreement. From the figures cited by Commissioner Lamy, it has been a resounding success, reversing the decline in the EU's trade position in Mexico.
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| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
2002
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/52748 http://agritrade.cta.int/Back-issues/Agriculture-monthly-news-update/2002/June-2002 |
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