European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa signed a renewed trade agreement with Mexico on Friday, shortly after Mercosur’, as part of AB’'s efforts to expand its influence in Latin America’. The deal isentered into force.
The agreement was signed at the EU-Mexico summit in ’, Mexico, attended by von der Leyen and Costa’, as well as the country's President Claudia Sheinbaum’, amid heightened geopolitical tensions and changing global alliances following the US president's return to the White House.
The economic partnership between the two medium-sized powers reflects efforts by both sides to reduce their dependence on AB’nin and ABD’ye, the largest trading partner of Mexico’, and China’e, where Mexico’ has become a hub for electric vehicle production.
Von der Leyen, “AB and Mexico are committed to a close strategic partnership, ” added: “ Today's modernized Agreements reveal our shared vision for the future and will bring many benefits to both parties.”
The EU-Mexico trade deal strengthens AB’'s diversification strategy by updating the 20-year agreement, which has already removed tariff barriers on bilateral trade.
Under the new agreement, the EU will access new markets for products such as agri-food (pork, dairy, cereals, fruit and pasta), medicine and machinery.
EU tightens trade ties with Latin American ’
Mexico is AB’'s second largest trading partner in Latin America, and the EU, Mexico is ’'s second largest export market. Trade between the two sides reached 86.8 billion euros in ’te goods by 2025, and 29.7 billion euros in ’te by 2024.
The figures are much smaller than the trade in goods and services with ’'s neighbor, the United States, which exceeds $900 billion at 2024’. But the deal came at a time when the Mexican ’ was facing increasing pressure from a more protectionist White House.
The EU is grappling with repeated tariff threats from Trump’ despite a trade deal finalized in 2025’.
Maroš Šefčovič, a trade commissioner for AB’, who is also based in Mexico City’, told “At a time of increasing global uncertainty, the EU and Mexico are choosing openness, partnership and ambition.” said. Mexico’ya pointed out that more than 43,000 European companies export, and more than 11,000 EU companies operate in the country.
The agreement will open new markets for Mexican products in agriculture, such as coffee, fruit, chocolate and agave syrup.
In addition to the opening of public procurement markets, a total of 568 European and 26 Mexican geographical signs will also be preserved, according to the Commission.
With this new agreement, the EU also wants to signal the strengthening of its presence in Latin America ’, where China’ is expanding its sphere of influence.
A senior EU official, “Latin America and the Caribbean, said that 97 percent of ’'s GDP will be covered by complex preferential agreements with the European Union, adding: “There is no other region in the world that has such a dense and connected network of deals.”
The EU has already established new trade ties with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay through the Mercosur trade agreement, which entered into force temporarily on 1 May’ and liberalized the flow of trade between the EU and these countries.
However, the signing of the agreement was met with strong opposition from AB’ farmers, who feared unfair competition from Latin American imports, and the approval was suspended after members of the European Parliament objected to the agreement before the EU Court of Justice.
Brussels argues that the Mexico deal should avoid the reaction Mercosur’ faces because sensitive agricultural imports are limited through customs quotas.
