The two countries remain committed to forging closer, mutually beneficial ties.

The sixth round (link in Spanish) of negotiations between Brazil and Mexico took place from June 12 to 14, 2017, in Brasilia, with the aim of expanding and intensifying Economic Complementarity Agreement No. 53.

These negotiations will be followed by another round that will take place in Mexico between August 28 and September 1, 2017.

These talks should be interpreted in the light of the growing impetus around negotiations between Latin American countries. The two countries look on greater market access and other forms of economic integration as instruments for stimulating their exports and levels of activity. For Mexico, negotiations with Brazil are a path to diversifying (link in Spanish) their destination markets, while Brazil sees the talks (link in Spanish) as a response to the changes that are taking place in the region and the world.

As was argued in a recent IDB report, Routes to Growth in a New Trade World (particularly chapter 7), the relationship between Brazil and Mexico is one of the “missing links” in Latin American integration. Attempts to deepen this tie would seek to intensify manufacturing value chains and leverage specialization advantages, particularly in agroindustry.