Talks for a new free-trade agreement (FTA) between the UK and Mexico were launched on Friday 20 May in London with International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevalyan and her Mexican counterpart, Tatiana Clouthier. The trade deal is an opportunity to secure an ‘enhanced FTA for a digital age, which supports hi-tech jobs, industries of the future and grows our economy’. Mexico is the world’s 16th largest economy, and its expanding population means demand for imports is set to grow by 35% by 2035. The country’s geographic positioning makes it an important link between North and South America, and a gateway to the Indo-Pacific region which the UK Government is seeking to build trade links with.
UK negotiators will look to go further and deeper in areas like services and technology, boosting a trade relationship already worth over £4 billion. The agreement could increase trade flows across the financial, creative, digital and technology services sectors thanks to advanced services provisions, boosting the UK’s already world-leading services industries. This is the third trade deal initiated in 2022, with talks on Indian and Canadian FTAs beginning in January and March respectively.
This new FTA will also complement the UK’s CPTPP negotiations, accession to which could see 99.9% of UK exports being eligible for tariff-free trade with this bloc, which includes some of the world’s largest existing and future economies including Mexico.
“Trade deals like this are vital to growing the economy to address the cost of living, as they support jobs, help businesses thrive and spur investment. We’ve already kickstarted negotiations with India and Canada and are close to joining the CPTPP free trade area, with a combined GDP of £9 trillion, of which Mexico is a key member”, said the International Trade Secretary in a Government press release on the new talks.
The joint statement on the talks from both Governments can be found at this page.
