Mexico and Bolivia have import and export opportunities in their bilateral trade generated by the Economic Complementation Agreement (ACE) between the two.

In 2018, a total of 97.5% of Bolivia’s tariff lines were duty-free for imports from Mexico, while under the Most Favored Nation (MFN) regime the liberalized percentage was 7.5%.

The global average of MFN tariffs applied by Bolivia was 0.3% for imports from Mexico, compared to an MFN average of 11.2%.

In the WTO, each nation sets limits on its tariffs and is obliged to give all of them MFN status, an expression that seems to suggest that it is some kind of special treatment for a given country, but that in reality means charging their respective tariffs. to all members equally.

In the case of agricultural products, according to the WTO, an average tariff rate of 2% was applied to Mexican exporters instead of the average MFN rate of 14.5%, and in that of industrial products of 0.0% instead of 10.5 percent.

Therefore, Mexico benefited from a margin of relative preference of 97.3% in general, 86.2% in the case of agricultural products and 99.5% in that of industrial products.

Opportunities 

Figures for 2018 show that the proportion of duty-free tariff lines in respect of imports from Mexico come from Bolivia was 98.3% for products (compared to 57.2% on an MFN basis).

Indicators of MFN tariff rates and preferential rates applied to bilateral imports from the Parties

The average of the preferential tariffs applied in the Mexican market to global imports from Bolivia was 0.3% (compared to a global MFN rate of 5.7%).

In the case of agricultural products, according to the WTO, an average tariff rate of 2.6% was applied to Bolivian exporters instead of an average MFN rate of 14.5%, and in that of industrial products an average tariff of zero was applied instead of 4.6 percent.

Consequently, Bolivia benefited from a relative preference margin of 94.7% in general, 82.1% in the case of agricultural products and almost 100% in that of industrial products.