MEXICO CITY: The European Union and Mexico will on Friday (May 22) sign a deal reducing tariffs on each other’s goods as both seek to lessen their dependence on trade with the United States.
The expansion of an accord dating to 2000 comes as Mexico fights hard to preserve a three-way free trade agreement with the United States and Canada, which is crucial to all three economies.
The EU is Mexico’s third-largest trading partner, lagging far behind the United States and China.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has stressed the importance of “opening other horizons” at a time when both Mexico and the European Union are grappling with US President Donald Trump’s tariff offensive.
The updated agreement to be signed by Sheinbaum and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the eighth EU-Mexico Summit removes most remaining barriers to trade and investment.
It facilitates trade in auto parts, a sector particularly affected by Trump’s tariffs.
“Mexico wants to reduce its dependence on its northern neighbour, but also on Asian, or rather, Chinese, supply chains, and in Europe we are pursuing the same objectives,” an EU official told AFP on condition of anonymity.