Cumulative European Union investment in Mexico continued to rise steadily from 2021 to 2024. This is evident from the latest data available from Eurostat.
These investment flows reached a record high of 207 billion euros in 2024. Furthermore, they have the potential to grow even more as a result of the Modernized Global Agreement (MGA) that both parties signed on May 22, 2026.
European Union Investments in Mexico
The Interim Trade Agreement (ITA, part of the MGA) contains provisions that liberalize investment. This follows the same approach as that established in the European Union’s most ambitious trade agreements to date. In particular, all substantive disciplines of the investment chapter will apply to both the services sector and the non-services sector.
After cumulative European Union investments in Mexico rose from 159 billion euros in 2020 to 181 billion euros in 2021, they increased again from 185 billion euros in 2022 to 204 billion euros in 2023.
In 2023, the main sectors in Mexico that attracted productive capital from the European Union were:
- Financial and insurance activities.
- Manufacturing.
- Professional, scientific, and technical activities.
- Wholesale and retail trade.
- Information and communication.
- Supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning.
New opening
Specifically, investors and their investments will benefit from the commitment to provide non-discriminatory treatment compared to domestic or third-country investors and investments. They will also enjoy ambitious market access disciplines (addressing quantitative restrictions such as monopolies and exclusive rights, quotas, and economic needs tests). Additionally, they will benefit from the prohibition of certain performance requirements.
In the energy sector, the ACI ensures that the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) principle will apply to both past and future free trade agreements that Mexico has signed or may sign. Therefore, the agreement guarantees that investors from the European Union will receive treatment on an equal footing. This will be in comparison to investors from Mexico’s other preferential trading partners.
SMEs
The ACI contains a framework to simplify trade and investment procedures and reduce costs related to exports and investment. As a result, this will increase trade and investment opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The expected benefits include greater transparency, less burdensome technical standards, compliance requirements, customs procedures, and rules of origin. In addition, it includes stronger protection for intellectual property rights and geographical indications, improved access to procurement procedures, as well as a special chapter designed to help SMEs take full advantage of the Agreement’s benefits.