EFTA and Mexico meet to discuss the modernisation of their free trade agreement

Ms Karin Büchel, Minister and head of the Free Trade Agreements/EFTA division at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, acted as the EFTA spokesperson, while Mr Félix González Sáenz, Director General for Market Access of Goods in the Mexican Ministry of Economy, headed the Mexican delegation.

The discussions centred on the parties’ respective interests in the area of market access for goods, focusing on agricultural products. The exchange was constructive and parties agreed to remain in contact and to continue discussions soon in view of a potential resumption of the FTA modernisation process. Negotiations on a modernised FTA started in May 2016. Four negotiation rounds have been held to date, the last one in June 2017.

Bilateral trade between EFTA and Mexico amounted to USD 2.5 billion in 2019 and USD 2.4 billion in 2020. Read more about merchandise trade between EFTA and Mexico here.