On 6-8 February, the 4th Round of Negotiation for the Expansion and Strengthening of Economic Complementarity Agreement No. 6 (ECA 6) between Argentina and Mexico was held in Buenos Aires.
The purpose of the negotiation is, on the one hand, to improve access for products already included in the Agreement through tariff reductions and simplification of technical and sanitary requirements, and, on the other hand, to expand the scope of the Agreement so as to include new products so far not negotiated. Lastly, the aim of the negotiations is also to update the Agreement by including new disciplines.
The Round was held in a friendly spirit and both sides agreed to seek common ground, which made it possible to make progress on several areas, such as Goods, Services, Government Procurement, Investment, and Technical Barriers to Trade. However, consensus is still to be reached on issues related to key interests of the two countries, so major negotiation efforts will be required.
In connection with trade in goods, Argentina expects to expand the scope of ECA 6, especially extending it to agricultural and agro-industrial goods. The two countries thus intend to dynamize the bilateral trade relationship, boosting Argentine exports to Mexico, which have fallen in the past few years.
Press release No. 044/18
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