Mexico will ask the European Union to eliminate tariffs on exports of certain agricultural products that were not included in the free trade agreement between them, which came into force in 2000.
Tariff liberalization for Mexican industrial goods exported to the European Union concluded in January 2003, while the tariff liberalization for European goods that enter the Mexican market ended in January 2007. However the FTA only covered 72% of Mexican agricultural exports products and 60% of European imports of this type.
Francisco de Rosenzweig, Undersecretary of Commerce.
The FTA has review clauses for the agricultural trade and services chapters, and clauses that could allow both parties to strengthen or include areas such as electronic commerce, investment and non-tariff barriers.
The products Mexico wants to negotiate on are: corn, wheat, barley, beans, sorghum, milk, cheese, apple, cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep, goats, sugar and chocolate.
Mexico and the European Union agreed to have a review clause for these products on the FTA since 2003, but the talks were cut short in the administration of President Vicente Fox.
At the time, Fox's government told the EU they were interested in exempting from taxes agricultural products such as canned mushrooms, bananas, asparagus and tropical fruit juices.
The FTA gave Mexico a number of quotas to export, duty free, certain quantities of agricultural products, strawberry, tuna, asparagus and orange juice, which have been largely squandered by the Latin American country.
In accordance with the Declaration of Santiago, signed on January 26, 2013, Mexico and the EU will review the FTA in order to expand their business relationship.
In the negotiations, both sides would review the legal framework for investment. Mexico's interest focuses on establishing a single agreement for all member countries of the European Union.
Mexico and the 28-nation bloc have identified areas of opportunity and deepening of the FTA.
Source: eleconomista.com.mx