EU clinches new trade deal with Mexico to bolster its foothold in Latin America

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa signed connected Friday a revamped commercialized woody with Mexico arsenic portion of the EU’s efforts to grow its power successful Latin America, soon aft the Mercosur pact entered into force.

The woody was signed astatine an EU–Mexico acme successful Mexico, with von der Leyen and Costa joined by the country's President Claudia Sheinbaum, amid rising geopolitical tensions and shifting planetary alliances pursuing the instrumentality of US president to the White House.

The economical concern betwixt the 2 medium-sized powers reflects efforts connected some sides to trim their dependence connected the US — the EU’s and Mexico's largest trading partner—and connected China, for which Mexico has go a hub for electrical conveyance production.

"The EU and Mexico are committed to a adjacent strategical partnership," von der Leyen said, adding: "Today’s modernised Agreements acceptable retired our shared imaginativeness of the aboriginal and volition present galore benefits for some sides."

The EU–Mexico commercialized woody strengthens the EU’s diversification strategy by updating a 20-year-old statement that had already eliminated tariff barriers connected bilateral trade.

Under the caller deal, the EU volition entree caller markets for products, specified arsenic agri-food (pork, dairy, cereals, effect and pasta), pharmaceuticals and machinery.

EU tightens commercialized ties successful Latin America

Mexico is the EU’s second-largest trading spouse successful Latin America and the EU is Mexico’s second-largest export market. Trade betwixt some sides reached €86.8 cardinal successful goods successful 2025, alongside €29.7 cardinal successful services successful 2024.

The figures stay acold smaller than Mexico’s commercialized with its neighbour, the US, which exceeded $900 cardinal successful goods and services successful 2024. But the woody comes arsenic Mexico faces mounting unit from a much protectionist White House.

For its part, the EU has been grappling with repeated tariff threats from Trump contempt a commercialized woody clinched successful 2025.

"At a clip of increasing planetary uncertainty, the EU and Mexico are choosing openness, concern and ambition," EU commercialized Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, who was besides successful Mexico City, said. He pointed retired that much than 43,000 European companies export to Mexico, portion implicit 11,000 EU companies run successful the country.

On agriculture, the pact volition unfastened up caller markets for Mexican products specified arsenic coffee, fruit, cocoa and agave syrup.

A full of 568 European and 26 Mexican geographical indications volition besides beryllium protected, alongside the opening of nationalist procurement markets, according to the Commission.

With this caller deal, the EU besides wants to awesome its strengthened beingness successful Latin America, wherever China has expanded its influence.

“97% of the GDP of Latin America and the Caribbean volition beryllium covered by blase preferential agreements with the European Union,” a elder EU authoritative said, adding: “There is nary different portion successful the satellite that has specified a dense and connected web of agreements.”

The EU has already built caller commercialized ties with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay done the Mercosur commercialized agreement, which provisionally entered into unit connected 1 May and liberalises commercialized flows betwixt the EU and those countries.

However, its signing has faced beardown absorption from EU farmers, who fearfulness unfair contention from Latin American imports, and ratification was suspended aft MEPs challenged the statement earlier the EU Court of Justice.

Brussels argues the Mexico statement should debar the backlash faced by Mercosur due to the fact that delicate cultivation imports stay capped done tariff quotas.