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The EU and Mexico have brokered a deal to upgrade their trade agreement by slashing tariffs on agricultural imports and opening up public procurement markets.
The accord has been a priority for the EU, which has responded to rising protectionism in the US by intensifying negotiations with other leading economies, saying it wants to work with like-minded countries to uphold international trade.
The deal reached at the weekend is also a boost to Mexico, which is locked in difficult negotiations with the Trump administration on how to address US concerns about the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU trade commissioner, said the revised pact sent “a strong message to other partners that it is possible to modernise existing trade relations when both partners share a clear belief in the merits of openness, and of free and fair trade”.
The new deal, which has been under negotiation for almost two years, upgrades an accord from 1997 that was mainly focused on liberalisation of trade in industrial goods.
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Brussels said the updated agreement would sweep away irritants that emerged in the application of the current deal, including eliminating red tape and streamlining customs procedures that EU exporters complain have hampered their efforts to sell into the Mexican market.
Both sides underlined the opportunities that the deal would bring for their farmers. For Mexico, the benefits include liberalised access for its orange juice, fruit and vegetables, and agave syrup. The EU secured duty-free access for almost all pork products as well as pasta and chocolate, as well as other tariff reductions.
One of the most sensitive points of the negotiation was how far to open up the Mexican dairy sector to competition, with access quotas agreed for EU milk powder and cheese.
Brussels also secured protection from imitation for many of its specialised local products, such as French Comté cheese.
The EU estimates that the deal, once fully in force, will save EU exporters €100m a year in customs duties.
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