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Trade and Economic Security

Factsheet: EU's Global Agreement with Mexico - An agreement for European farmers

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An agreement for European farmers

The EU's Global Agreement with Mexico will support the EU farming community by removing prohibitive Mexican tariffs on key EU agri-food exports and protecting 568 tradition EU products (geographical indications) from imitation. 

Mexico is the second biggest importer of EU agri-food products in Latin America

€2.3 billion
Current value of EU annual food and drink exports to Mexico

EU food and drink exports to Mexico

The EU sells more than 1% of its total worldwide food and drink exports to Mexican consumers (2023)

EU ProductExport value% of EU food and drinks exports to Mexico
Dairy products€220 million9%
Vegetables€251 million11%
Mixed food preparations and ingredients€245 million10%
Wine and wine-based products€207 million9%
Cereal preparations and milling products€230 million10%
Other€1.2 billion51%
Total€2.3 billion100%

Scrapping customs duties

EU agri-food exports to Mexico were worth €2.3 billion euro in 2023. 

The agreement will help boost these exports, as zero duties will apply on almost all of the EU’s key export interests either at entry into force or within 7 to 10 years of the agreement starting to apply. 

 

EU productMexican customs duties
MeatNowWith the new agreement
PoultryUp to 100%0%
PorkUp to 45%0%
Pork loinsUp to 45%0% for 10.000t
EU productMexican customs duties
DairyNowWith the new agreement
Blue cheesesUp to 45%0%*
Other cheeseUp to 45%0% for 20.000t
Fresh and processed cheeseUp to 45%0% for 5.000t
Yoghurt20%0%
EU productMexican customs duties
Processed foodNowWith the new agreement
Chocolate, confectioneryUp to 20%0%
PastaUp to 20%0%

 

Protecting traditional EU agri-food products from imitation

The modernised agreement will protect in total 568 of Europe’s flagship food and drink products (Geographical Indications) in Mexico, by making it illegal to counterfeit and sell imitations.

336 Geographical Indications representing traditional high-quality European delicacies originating from specific regions will be protected, in addition to the 232 Geographical Indications for EU spirit drinks already protected in Mexico.

Some of the EU’s distinctive food and drink products the new agreement aims to protect:

  • AUSTRIA: Tiroler Speck
  • DENMARK: Danablu
  • CYPRUS: Loukoumi Geroskipou
  • BULGARIA: Dunavska ravnina
  • CROATIA: Baranjski kulen 
  • CZECHIA: České pivo
  • BELGIUM: Jambon d'Ardenne 
  • GREECE: Feta, Elia kalamatas 
  • FINLAND: Vodka of Finland*
  • FRANCE: Champagne, Pruneaux d'Agen
  • GERMANY: Bayerisches Bier, Nürnberger Bratwürste
  • HUNGARY: Tokaji, Szegedi szalámi
  • IRELAND: Irish Cream*
  • ITALY: Chianti, Prosciutto di Parma, Fontina and Parmigiano Reggiano
  • LITHUANIA: Original Lithuanian vodka*
  • PORTUGAL: Queijo S. Jorge, Porto 
  • NETHERLANDS: Gouda Holland
  • POLAND: Polish Vodka*
  • ROMANIA: Magiun de prune Topoloveni
  • SLOVAKIA Spišská borovička
  • SLOVENIA: Kranjska klobasa
  • SPAIN: Rioja 
  • SWEDEN: Swedish Aquavit*

*already registered under the EU-Mexico GI spirits agreement

Keeping food safe for European consumers

The agreement safeguards current EU standards for food safety, animal and plant health, and governments' right to set new ones in future. 

Precautionary principle

The agreement reaffirms the ‘precautionary principle’: both sides are free to adopt measures to protect human, animal and plant health in the face of a perceived risk, including in situations where scientific information is not conclusive. 

Safeguarding strict EU standards

The modernised Agreement safeguards the EU's right to apply its own standards to all goods and services sold in Europe. All imports from Mexico have to meet existing EU rules on: 

  • consumer safety;
  • animal and plant health;
  • food safety and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Protecting our right to regulate 

The new trade agreement allows the EU to set higher standards and levels of protection for product and food safety, people at work, or the environment, if needed. 

The agreement protects EU governments' "right to regulate" in these and other areas.

Promoting animal welfare 

The EU and Mexico have agreed to cooperate more closely to raise standards of welfare for animals reared to produce food products. 

Both sides agree to: 

  • recognise animals as sentient beings (as EU law already does);
  • improve implementation of animal welfare laws.

Tackling resistance to antibiotics and other issues 

The EU and Mexico have agreed to set up a working group to exchange experiences and best practices, and in that way learn from each other. Their discussions will cover: 

  • the growing problem of resistance to antibiotics, particularly in animals reared for food production,
  • animal welfare. 

The agreement will enable the two sides to: 

  • influence international discussions about these topics,
  • strengthen our systems for antimicrobial resistance and animal welfare.