How Many Free Trade Agreements Does Mexico Have

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mexico implemented a series of measures to restructure the economy, including unilateral trade liberalization, the replacement of import substitution policies with others aimed at attracting foreign investment, the reduction of trade barriers, and the country`s competitiveness in the event of non-oil exports. In 1986, it acceded to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and introduced further trade liberalization measures that led to closer relations with the United States. NAFTA provisions required partner countries to eliminate all non-tariff barriers to agricultural trade, either through their transition to tariff rate quotas (TRQs) or through normal tariffs. Mexico has withdrawn or replaced its import licensing requirements with TRQs and phased them out over a ten-year period. About half of agricultural trade between the United States and Mexico was exempt from duties when the agreement entered into force. Sensitive products that received longer exit plans of 14 to 15 years included sugar, corn, dried beans, frozen concentrated orange juice, winter vegetables and peanuts. The sugar trade, one of the most sensitive issues in trade negotiations, has obtained the longest withdrawal period from the TRQ of 15 years. Nafta contained special guarantees in which a partner country could apply the rate of duty in force on the date of entry into force of the agreement if imports of a product reached a « trigger » as defined in the agreement. The North American Free Trade Agreement has been in force since January 1, 1994. The agreement was signed in December 1992; Ancillary AGREEMENTS to NAFTA were signed in August 1993.8 At the time of NAFTA implementation, the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement was already in effect and U.S. tariffs on most Mexican products were low. NAFTA opened up the Mexican market to the United States and Canada and created the largest retail market in the world.

Some tariffs have been removed immediately, while others expire in different calendars from 5 to 15 years. NAFTA has accelerated tariff reductions. It abolished import quotas and licences. It established rules for patronage dividend programs and terminated all existing reimbursement programs before January 1, 2001. The agreement also included provisions on market access in the goods, agriculture and most services sectors; foreign direct investment; protection of intellectual property rights; sanitary and phytosanitary measures; public procurement; anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases; ground transportation; dispute resolution; and special protection mechanisms. NAFTA was the first major environmental and labour free trade agreement by integrating these provisions into separate side agreements that entered into force at the same time as NAFTA. The Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement includes measures related to market access, tariff quotas, anti-dumping and countervailing duties, rules of origin, customs procedures, dispute settlement, government procurement, intellectual property rights, investment, protective measures, sanitary and phytosanitary provisions, technical regulations and technical barriers to trade. . . .