Mexico City. The Modernized Global Agreement provides Mexico with a new opportunity to diversify its trade, as the country can no longer depend on the United States, said Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, head of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat).

Participating in the 6th Mexico-European Union Forum, the official emphasized that over the past 25 years, the economic relationship between the European bloc and Mexico has grown, with Europe becoming the second-largest investor in Mexico after the United States, and 6 million jobs have been created.

After noting that both sides share political, human, and cultural ties, as well as common goals such as democracy, prosperity, social justice, sustainable development, and multilateralism, she emphasized that with the signing of the Global Agreement next February, the outlook will be more dynamic.

"The Modernized Global Agreement gives us a new opportunity. It’s also very important for Mexico because what Mexico needs is to diversify its trade.

We can’t continue to depend solely on the United States, and it’s true that our trade primarily goes to the United States. It hasn’t diminished despite all this tariff noise. We remain a fairly powerful exporter to the United States, but there’s no doubt that our task now must be to diversify into other regions," she explained.

The official also called on representatives of the European bloc to promote investment flows to Mexico, as the country has a Plan Mexico, a roadmap for the coming years.

“Plan Mexico has very clear goals: to increase public and private investment to reach 25 percent of GDP,” she said.

Bárcena commented that while Mexico is seeking to replace imports, this does not mean it will reduce trade with Europe, as this is more focused on Asian countries.

In a later interview, Bárcena commented that the increase in tariffs on electric cars imported from countries with which Mexico does not have a trade agreement will not determine what happens in the sector.

“Electromobility won’t depend solely on China. Mexico has a very serious commitment,” she said before noting that President Claudia Sheinbaum is promoting a Mexican electric car. Furthermore, the Ministry is working on Standard 163, which will mandate that automakers move toward hybrid vehicles by 2027.

She emphasized that the environmental sector should not be seen as a restriction on development. “It’s not an obstacle; it’s meant for us to achieve better development, to do things better, to avoid making mistakes, and therefore to have a new economic sector, for example, like the circular economy,” she said.

Edit Typos