Mexico and Cuba Deepen Trade Agreements

HAVANA TIMES — The government officials from Mexico and Cuba met in Havana this week for their first negotiating session for broadening and deepening commercial relations, the dpa news service reported.

According to the Mexican Ministry of the Economy, the bilateral meeting concluded on Saturday after the representatives discussed market access, rules of origin, and technical barriers to trade, health and phytosanitary measures, and dispute settlement.

According to figures from the Mexican government, trade between the two countries grew by 40 percent between 2000 and 2011, with Mexican exports to Cuba increasing by 49 percent and imports from Cuba falling by 39 percent.

The business relationship between the two nations is governed mostly by an agreement under the protection of the Latin American Integration Association.