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Mexico

January 2004 saw the entry into force of NAFTA, the free-trade agreement with the US and Canada. This agreement set the pattern for the US imposition of FTAs elsewhere. It contains basic elements that would be repeated in many subsequent FTAs. By the same token, its adoption kickstarted the civil society movement of resistance to FTAs that has been gathering strength for the last 15 years.

In addition to NAFTA, Mexico has signed the following FTAs:
 Bolivia (1994)
 Costa Rica (1994)
 Group of Three (Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela (1994); Venezuela pulled out in November 2006; in March 2011, the Mexican Congress agreed to extend the Colombian FTA to agriculture)
 Nicaragua (1997)
 Chile (1998)
 EU (1999)
 EFTA (2000)
 Israel (2000)
 Northern Triangle (Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, 2000)
 Uruguay (2003)
 Japan (2005)
 Central America (2011, unifying all previous FTAs with the different countries)
 Peru (ratified by the Mexican Congress in December 2011)

The government is currently in FTA discussions with Panama, Singapore, South Korea, New Zealand, the Dominican Republic, Brazil and others.

Mexico’s FTAs with Colombia, Peru and Brazil have been the focus of intense resistance from the farming and fishing sectors.

last update: May 2012
Photo: Presidencia de la Repúblida de México - CC BY 2.0


Mexico, Panama finish free-trade talks
Mexian President Enrique Peña Nieto called the trade pact "another significant step toward Panama’s future participation in the Pacific Alliance, an inclusion which Mexico supports." The Pacific Alliance is a trade bloc that includes Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru.
Turkey ‘ready’ for free trade deal with Mexico, minister says
Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan has said Turkey is ready to sign a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) with Mexico.
Mexican and EU lawmakers say free trade deal needs overhaul
European Parliament members and Mexican federal lawmakers wrapped up their joint meeting and called for "far-ranging modifications" to the trade agreement signed in 1997 and implemented in 2000.
Mexico envisions Nafta-EU trade agreement, foreign minister says
Mexico envisions a trade deal tying it to the European Union, US and Canada as the future of transatlantic commerce and would welcome joining talks between the US and EU, Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade said.
Treaty tolls death knell for Mexican countryside
The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations, which Mexico is to join in December, are threatening to eliminate the last defences of the country’s agricultural sector.
Permanent People’s Tribunal will session in Mexico
“Free trade, dirty war, impunity and peoples rights” is the title of the new national chapter of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) that aims to expose “structural violence” in Mexico as a result of the implementation of free trade agreements.
Mexico says ready to sign free trade agreement with Turkey
Mexican Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari has said that his country was ready to sign a free trade agreement with Turkey.
Peru Free Trade Agreement ratified by Mexico’s senate
The Peru-Mexico Free Trade Agreement was ratified on Thursday, after Mexico’s Senate had initially rejected it on Wednesday.
Mexico, Central America Sign Free Trade Agreement
The governments of Mexico and five Central American countries signed in El Salvador a free trade agreement (FTA) that unifies the existing ties in one body.
Mexican ag, fishing interests call for halt to Peru trade deal
Mexico’s agriculture and fishing industries called on the Senate Monday to hold off on ratifying the free trade agreement with Peru until a better deal can be negotiated.