Mexico and EU wrap up sixth round of Trade Agreement

The sixth round of the Free Trade Agreement between Mexico and the European Union (FTA EU-MX) wrapped up this week and seems on schedule to conclude during the third week of December.

The Ministry of Economy stated task groups continue working on pending issues in order to meet again on December 11 in Brussels, Belgium .

A statement released by the Ministry claimed it would be possible to "profile a closure of the negotiations" by December 18, during the meetings the Minister of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo , will have with his counterpart, the European Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström .

The modernization of this Agreement – which began on November 27 in Mexico City – seeks to update the chapters on rules of origin, investment, government procurement, intellectual property, state-owned companies, dispute-mechanism resolution, sustainable development, energy, raw materials, anti-corruption provisions, among others.

The FTA between EU-MX entered into full force and affect 17 years ago. During that time, trade tripled , going from USD$20.8 billion to USD$61.7 billion.

Overall, European companies have invested in Mexico close to USD$174.8 billion.

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