Mexico and the United Kingdom scheduled the first round of bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations for the week beginning July 11, 2022.
The governments of both countries plan to conclude the cycle of negotiations before the end of the current year.
With this calendar drawn up, Tatiana Clouthier, Secretary of Economy of Mexico, and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister of Commerce of the United Kingdom, participated in an event in London, this Friday, to publicize the formal start of negotiations.
Clouthier announced the new FTA would include chapters on trade in goods, trade in services, regulatory cooperation, digital trade, innovation, gender issues and SMEs, among others.
After saying that the new treaty would allow for a stronger bilateral relationship, Trevelyan added: «We want to be the champions of free trade.»
Also the FTA between Mexico and the United Kingdom would include regulations on investment flows and would support companies from both countries to access and make better use of existing and new global supply chains.
As of January 1, 2021, as a consequence of Brexit, the United Kingdom lost the benefits of global trade agreements negotiated by the European Union on behalf of its members.
As a consequence, in December 2020, Mexico and the United Kingdom agreed to maintain, as of January 1, 2021, the tariff preferences that they have benefited from within the framework of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Mexico (FTA EU-MX).
First round
Also, in December 2020, the United Kingdom and Mexico agreed to enter into negotiations on a new and customized trade agreement within one year of the entry into force of the current Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA).
Therefore, before June 1, 2022. Mexico is a key partner for the United Kingdom and the negotiations will allow to take advantage of the existing trade agreements to agree a more complete and effective bilateral trade agreement.
The existing TCA committed the United Kingdom and Mexico to start negotiations on a new FTA no later than one year after its entry into force. The deal ensured that more than 97% of tariff lines on UK exports remained duty-free.
By entering into negotiations, the UK can preserve these benefits and ensure that it maintains duty-free trade in exports, such as vehicles and machinery, where MFN tariffs would otherwise be 20 per cent.
Trevelyan and Clouthier have instructed their teams to hold the first official round of negotiations in Mexico City this July and a second round in the fall.
