The European Union has prepared a proposal for a free trade agreement with Mexico. Negotiations towards this end are scheduled to commence in October. The pact is expected to be signed in 1997. Negotiations are said to move along swiftly as Europe is anxious to correct the drop in exports to Mexico.
These declined by 25.7% in 1995, reflecting the fact that Mexicans are preferring to buy from the United States, following the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The chief of negotiations for the European Union in Mexico, Jacques Lecomte, said that one of the main concerns is the consequences the pact with Mexico would have on other trade partners, such as the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic, that is favored with free trade conditions under the Lomé Convention.
The Dominican Republic would be one of the losers if the European Union signs with Mexico.