Mexico and the EU have signed a preliminary agreement on an expanded and far reaching trade agreement.

Measures to tackle money laundering are a key feature of the agreement that contrasts strongly with increasingly isolationist trade policies, notably in the US.

Deeper and broader

The expanded EU-Mexico Global Agreement will “deepen and broaden the scope of an existing trade agreement signed in 1997” according to European trade commissioner, Cecilia Malmström.

For 98 per cent of goods traded there will be no duties from the moment the agreement becomes effective and for the items that remain, quotas will be imposed bilaterally, for example in dairy and meat exports.

Money laundering measures

Tools designed to tackle money laundering will be introduced. Codes will be drawn up to strengthen internal controls, external auditing, and financial reporting.

Anti-corruption measures are also contemplated in the new agreement, with bribery listed as a criminal offence for government officials.