Presidents Of Brazil, Mexico Discuss Expansion Of Bilateral Trade
By ABr
By Marcelo Brandão
President Michel Temer met with Mexico’s Enrique Peña Nieto in the Mexican city of Puerto Vallarta and discussed the expansion of commercial ties between the two countries. Temer left the assembly optimistic, even though no deal in this connection has been signed thus far. Temer is in Mexico to take part in the 1st Meeting of Mercosur and Pacific Alliance Presidents, to be held Tuesday (Jul. 24).
“Mexico–Brazil relations, more than reasonable as they are, are being bolstered by these new talks we’re having, particularly on commercial relations,” Temer said after leaving the meeting.
Temer and Peña Nieto signed the Deal on Mutual Cooperation and Assistance for Customs Affairs. As for trade ties, the Mexican president did not forge any proposals with Brazil, as further negotiations must be conducted with other member states of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), also joined by the US and Canada. “He asked us to wait until August, after the meetings with the US, Canada, etc, they could talk to our country more objectively,” he explained.
The Brazilian president dined with heads of state from the Pacific Alliance—a bloc formed by Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico. Representatives from the two blocs will hold a meeting Tuesday (24) in an event parallel to the 13th Pacific Alliance Summit Meeting.
An accord between the Pacific Alliance and Mercosur became closer to being materialized in 2014, when facilitated trade measures were adopted among Latin American countries. Since then, a number of tariff and regulating barriers were removed between bloc members, in addition to the implementation of facilitated customs cooperation and business integration, especially among small- and medium-sized businesses.
Brics meeting
Temer is expected to leave Mexico after the Tuesday meetings. After a connection in Brasília, he should fly off to Johannesburg, South Africa, for a meeting with Brics—a group made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
*Paola de Orte contributed to this article.