"Coherence and conditionality in European trade strategy: Negotiating the EU-Mexico Free Trade Agreement"

Szymanski, Marcela and Smith, Michael E. (2001) "Coherence and conditionality in European trade strategy: Negotiating the EU-Mexico Free Trade Agreement". In: UNSPECIFIED, Madison, Wisconsin. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The argument proceeds as follows. In the first section of the article, we discuss the historical context in which the Global Agreement was pursued. The purpose in this section is to explain the general motivations, economic and political, of both sides when they first agreed to discuss a deal. In the second section we describe in more detail the principles of coherence and political conditionality that informed the negotiation of the agreement. In the third section, we examine the initial stages of the negotiations, focusing on why Mexico initially rejected the EU's proposals for linking political conditionality with a trade agreement. In the fourth section we explain how the EU managed to secure Mexico's acceptance of the EU's terms in the Global Agreement. In the fifth section, we briefly compare the final Global Agreement with the NAFTA pact to further illustrate the novel features of the EU-Mexico arrangement. In the conclusion we speculate on the future of this agreement, stressing its implications for global free trade and theories of regional integration.

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