On Friday, May 20th, UK officials said talks over a free trade deal with Mexico had been started. Both parties are looking to add services to the current agreement as well as aiming to increase trade in the financial and digital sectors. Britain and Mexico agreed to a continuation trade deal before Britain left the sphere of the European Union, but that arrangement is based on an EU-Mexico trade agreement negotiated over 20 years ago. Britain’s trade relationship with Mexico is currently worth over 4 billion pounds ($5 billion), the trade ministry said.
A free-trade agreement with Mexico would also boost Britain’s foreign policy tilt towards the Indo-Pacific. Mexico is a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which Britain wants to join.
The free trade area, established in 2018, is now made of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
“Trade deals like this are vital to growing the economy to address the cost of living, as they support jobs, help businesses thrive, and spur investment,” trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said in a statement.
Cheaper bananas
This might mean that cheaper bananas could soon be on their way to British stores. According to government insiders, increasing the numbers of bananas that can be cheaply sold into Britain is top of the list of priorities for Mexican negotiators. Imports of molasses and vegetables that are not grown in the UK are also expected to grow.
Source: express.co.uk
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