Argentina and Mexico agreed to maintain the automotive quotas between them as part of a series of agreements reached this Friday.
The announcement comes in a context in which the presidents of Mexico and Argentina agreed at the end of last February to start negotiations to reach a comprehensive and ambitious trade agreement.
The delegations of Mexico and Argentina met for the formalization of the Sixteenth Additional Protocol to the Economic Complementation Agreement No. 6 (ACE 6) and the Seventh Additional Protocol to Appendix I of the Economic Complementation Agreement No. 55 (ACE 55).
“The agreement reached between both countries to maintain the preferential treatment for the automobile trade through a scheme of annual quotas was celebrated, as well as the establishment of a preferential quota, temporarily, for the importation into Mexico of black beans from from Argentina,” the Ministry of Economy said in a statement.
Automotive quotas
The meeting was headed by the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, Luz María de la Mora, and by the Secretary of International Economic Relations of Argentina, Cecilia Todesca.
Argentina promised to dismantle tariffs on car trade with Mexico on three different occasions, without respecting those agreements and consequently requesting a partial opening through quotas, first in 2011, then in 2015 and finally in 2019.
The statement from the Ministry of Economy did not specify the amount of the quotas. Undersecretary de la Mora highlighted the importance of maintaining preferential conditions for trade in light vehicles within the framework of Appendix I of ACE 55, given the importance of the automotive sector for the Mexican economy, as well as trade within the Latin American region.
“Both officials reaffirmed the commitment of their governments to generate the conditions that allow the negotiation process to be resumed within ACE 6, in follow-up to the commitment made by the leaders of Mexico and Argentina to deepen the commercial relationship and, with it, increase levels of trade and investment between both countries”, added the Ministry of Economy.
Argentina is Mexico’s 6th largest trading partner in Latin America and ranks 11th as a source of Foreign Direct Investment globally. In 2021, trade between Mexico and Argentina totaled 1,855 million dollars.
