Free Trade Agreements in Mexico
September 2nd, 2019
Our country actively participates in various multilateral and regional forums to promote a solid trade system that gives greater certainty to trade and foreign direct investment flows.
Mexico was placed as the first trading partner of the United States in the first half of 2019, benefiting from the trade war between the United States and China.
During the first half of the year, merchandise trade (imports plus exports) between Mexico and its northern neighbor totaled 308,886 million dollars, surpassing Canada (306,697 million) and China (271,044 million).
Mexico has benefited from the trade war between the two largest powers in the world, while maintaining a positive trend in its sales to the US market, while that of Canada to the same destination was negative in the first half of the current year .
In the last decade, from 2008 to 2018, the United States had a greater dynamism (66.3%, cumulatively) in merchandise trade with Mexico than that registered with China (61.4%) or Canada (3.4 percent).
Regarding US imports of products during the first half of 2019, those of Mexico climbed 6.3% at the interannual rate, to amount to 179,612 million dollars. In contrast, those from China were for 219.044 million dollars, a drop of 12.4%, and those from Canada fell 1.1%, to 158.143 million dollars.
In the opposite direction, US exports fell with its three main trading partners: those destined for Canada fell 2.8% (148.554 million dollars), those sent to Mexico fell 1.7% (129.274 million) and those shipped to China plummeted 18.9% (64,107 million).
Mexico currently has a network of:
- 12 Free Trade agreements with 46 countries,
- 32 agreements with 33 countries for the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments (APPRIs)
- 9 agreements within the framework of the Latin American Integration Association.
With this network, it is possible to strengthen the integration and competitiveness of our country in global value chains. Within these agreements, the establishment of clear rules for exports, investment and the protection of intellectual property rights and having appropriate mechanisms for the defense of our commercial interests, as well as those of national exporters and investors; It's fundamental.