Brazil and Mexico trade deal reviewed by Reuters

MEXICO CITY/SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian and Mexican authorities said on Monday they see a need to review and expand their current trade agreements in an effort to strengthen ties between Latin America’s two largest economies.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is in Mexico as part of an official government visit that will include his attendance at the inauguration ceremony of Claudia Sheinbaum as President of Mexico on Tuesday.

Mexico and Brazil have had a trade agreement since the early 2000s that exempts or reduces import duties on about 800 types of products.

“The growth of our relationship has already gone beyond this agreement,” Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s incoming economy minister, said on the sidelines of an event on Monday. “We need to update it,” he added.

Earlier at the same event, Lula said trade agreements between both countries, which also include an agreement regulating trade in vehicles and auto parts, must be revised as soon as possible.

“I want our industries to grow, our agriculture to grow, I want Brazil and Mexico to invest to build artificial intelligence that could bring economic benefits to us,” he said in his speech, without elaborating.

During the event, Lula also suggested that the trade agreement under discussion between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc in South America could be extended to Latin America in the future.