Mexico and the EU take a major step forward
Trade between the EU and Mexico totals over 86 billion euros, with Germany accounting for about one-third of that figure. However, German exports to Mexico have come under pressure in recent years.
This is precisely where the modernized EU-Mexico Agreement comes in, which Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are signing today in Mexico City.
This is not just an update. It is about creating new momentum through
- nearly complete tariff liberalization,
- the removal of further trade barriers,
- more international standards, and
- improved access to public procurement.
Mexico has long been a key investment location for German companies – the most important globally outside of Europe, after the U.S. and China. More than two thousand companies with German participation are active there, driving industrial value creation in key sectors such as automotive, mechanical engineering, chemicals, and electronics – with 335,000 jobs directly in the country.
The country is also gaining strategic importance for the realignment of global supply chains – as an industrial hub, a bridge to the North American market, and a partner for future technologies.
The new agreement can make a decisive contribution to making value chains more resilient and diversified and opening up new investment and cooperation opportunities for companies.
If, in the next step, the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) gives its approval and a positive vote is subsequently achieved in the European Parliament’s plenary session, the Interim Trade Agreement (iTA) can be implemented. This promises to trigger immediate economic effects.
After that, Europe must follow through and ratify the full modernized Mexico Agreement (MGA) in all EU member states so that it can enter into force.
Comprehensive information from the European Commission on the agreement: EU-Mexico
