The agreement will not affect EU or Mexican legislation: the agreement will bring improvements in more than 25 areas where trade barriers will make it more difficult for European exporters and importers. Rules and rules that are not compatible with international agreements, international standards or established practices may hinder the compliance costs of EU exporters. Negotiations began in 2016. In April, the EU and Mexico secured the intention of two parties to conclude a final text of the agreement by the end of 2018. So there is unrealized potential on both sides for more trade and investment. This unrealized potential means that no EU trade agreement obliges governments to privatise or deregulate public services at national or local level. The agreement between the EU and Mexico is no different. The agreement will allow the EU and Mexico to cooperate on certain regulatory issues on a voluntary basis. Around 100 European spirit drinks with geographical indications are already protected under the existing EU-Mexico agreement. Under the new trade agreement, the EU wants Mexico to protect an additional 340 European geographical indications for wines and foodstuffs. This means that only products manufactured in the EU can be sold in Mexico under the name in question. As with all EU trade agreements, the agreement with Mexico will not affect EU product standards, including food and agricultural standards. Mexico and the EU also agree to remove other trade barriers, such as the lack of clarity of rules and regulations, in order to facilitate the export of their products to Mexico for European producers.

For other products, the agreement will provide new access to the important market within annual limits, for example: the EU has strict legislation on the protection of workers` rights. The EU and Mexico agreed that the new trade agreement should support existing rights, not reduce or water them down. Both the EU and Mexico agreed that the trade agreement between them must support existing environmental laws and not reduce or water them down. The agreement prohibits both sides from pursuing „a race to the bottom.“ They must therefore not unduly encourage trade and investment: the trade agreement is part of the new, wider global agreement between the EU and Mexico, which will strengthen cooperation and regular high-level meetings between Mexico and the EU in the areas of human rights, security and justice. EU trade agreements do not affect a country`s ability to regulate its service markets. They try to prevent governments from discriminating against service providers on the basis of their nationality. In 2015, the European Commission published new guidelines for transparency. Since then, the Commission has published all the new negotiating documents presented in trade negotiations.