The agreements are intended to increase trade and investment flows and include rules on transparency and certainty. The FTAs cover standards, trade in services, intellectual property, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and include a dispute settlement mechanism. The FTAs also provide for the elimination of tariff and non-tariff measures over a period of three to eleven years. Products on which duties will be eliminated immediately include certain agricultural goods, chemicals, auto parts, and tools and heavy vehicles. Including those FTAs with Costa Rica and Nicaragua, Mexico's recent FTAs represent a significant advance towards creating a Mexico-Central America Free Trade Area.
Mexican officials indicate that they also are seeking FTAs with Panama, Singapore and Japan.
Earlier this year, Mexico signed an FTA with the EU, which, according to a former U.S. trade negotiator, could conflict with GATT Article 5 covering regional integration agreements in services. The EU move comes after a near-unanimous decision by EU Member states to request WTO consultations and possibly move to request the establishment of WTO panels. The EU would launch simultaneous consultations over the cases and, if necessary, request the establishment of separate Panels so that each case can be decided on an individual basis. Specifically, the panel ruled that Guatemala's procedure and methodology with respect to initiating the investigation, providing timely notice to interested parties, granting an extended period of review, failing to evaluate all relevant factors and failing to demonstrate a threat of injury, among others, violated several provisions of the Anti-Dumping Agreement. The panel, however, refused to grant Mexico's request that Guatemala refund to Mexico all anti-dumping duties collected to date.