The agreement would remove 95 percent of Mexico's remaining high tariffs on EU imports, including duties on cheese and pork that currently reach 45 percent, according to the European Parliament's trade committee.
The European Parliament is scheduled to vote this week on giving its consent to conclude two agreements updating trade relations between the European Union and Mexico, according to the European Parliament's own record of its July 6-9 plenary session in Strasbourg. A joint press conference with the lead negotiators is scheduled for Wednesday, July 8, following the plenary votes on both agreements, according to a European Parliament press release published July 3.
The Two Agreements
The two instruments are the modernised Global Agreement (MGA), a broader political and economic partnership, and the interim Trade Agreement (iTA), which covers the trade elements that only the EU, not individual member states, has authority over, including customs duties and the protection of EU-origin products.
The iTA can take effect once approved by Parliament and the Council, without waiting for ratification by all 27 EU member states, which the MGA requires. Both agreements were signed on May 22, 2026, in Mexico City, updating a framework that has governed EU-Mexico relations since 2000, according to the European Commission.
Parliament's Foreign Affairs and International Trade committees endorsed the MGA on June 23, 2026, 67 votes to 15, with three abstaining, according to a European Parliament press release. An accompanying resolution passed 57 votes to 14, with 13 abstaining.
Tariff Cuts and Market Access
MEPs estimated in the resolution that the tariff cuts could reduce EU companies' customs costs by as much as 100 million euros a year, once Mexico removes 95 percent of its remaining high tariffs on EU imports, according to Borja Giménez Larraz, the INTA committee's rapporteur on the agreement.
Trade Between the EU and Mexico
Cheese and pork exported from the EU currently face Mexican tariffs of up to 45 percent, the committee said. MEPs' resolution projects that, under the most favorable scenario, EU exports of goods and services to Mexico could grow by 75 percent.
The agreement would also bar the sale of imitation products under 568 protected European regional names in Mexico, and open procurement markets in 14 Mexican states to EU bidders, according to the committee release. Giménez Larraz said bilateral trade in goods between the EU and Mexico has grown 148 percent since the original 2000 agreement.
Bilateral trade between the EU and Mexico totaled more than 82 billion euros in goods in 2024, according to the Council of the EU. Mexico is the EU's second-largest trading partner in Latin America, while the EU is Mexico's third-largest trading partner, the Council said. More than 45,000 EU companies export to Mexico, most of them small and medium-sized businesses, according to the Council.
What Happens Next
Following the June 23 committee vote, INTA Chair Bernd Lange said the agreement "stabilises value chains and strengthens our industrial base." AFET Chair David McAllister said the same day that the next step is "swift ratification by all 27 member states."
Once Parliament consents, the Council can finalize the iTA and put it into effect. The MGA still needs approval from all 27 EU member states and from Mexico before it fully takes hold, according to the European Parliament.
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