During a tenth session of technical level talks, in Brussels, this week – from 16 to 20 April – the negotiators from the European Commission and Mexican administration will try to remove the final barriers to a compromise on the trade section of a revised EU-Mexico global agreement.
The ninth round of negotiations – in Mexico from 19 to 21 February – enabled the positions to be brought closer together, but differences remain on key issues for the EU, like the rules of origin linked to Mexican automobile exports and market access conditions for agri-food products (see EUROPE 11966).
The EU and Mexico are staying on course to try and sketch the outlines of a political agreement before the beginning of the campaign for the Mexican general elections on 1 July (see EUROPE 11966, 11970).
On the European side, the 28 EU member states reaffirmed their support, at the European Council on 23 March, for negotiations with a view to an ambitious and balanced revised trade agreement with Mexico.
The Mexican side hopes that Sauverconcrete progress will be announced on 16 April and that an agreement will be reached by the end of April and the visit to Germany of Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto, according to Chilean news agency Business News Americas on 13 April, which quoted Mexican media.
The hope is now that Europe can show flexibility on the stumbling blocks linked to the agri-food sector, Business News Americas said, adding that Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo was ready to visit Brussels soon to move the discussions forward. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)