EU-Mexico trade deal: what changes for dairy and meat?

The European Parliament has approved the modernised EU-Mexico Global Agreement, progressively removing tariffs on key agrifood products. The deal is expected to strengthen the EU's competitive position in the Mexican market, with Dutch cheese exporters and Spanish pork and poultry suppliers among those best placed to benefit from improved market access.Pork and poultry are among the main beneficiaries, with the progressive elimination of import tariffs that previously reached up to 45% and 100%, respectively. Beef follows a different trend, with the agreement introducing a 5,000-ton tariff-rate quota for Mexican exports to the EU. For dairy, the agreement significantly expands market access through larger duty-free quotas for cheese, milk powders, butter, whey and milk, while tariffs on products such as yoghurt, blue cheese and lactose will be gradually eliminated. It also protects 568 European geographical indications, including Gouda Holland, Parmigiano Reggiano, Feta and Danablu. Product Current Final measure Phase-in period Meat Pork Up to 45% Duty-free (except pork loins under a 10,000t TRQ) Immediate Poultry Up to 100% Duty-free Immediate Dairy Milk powders 50% Duty-free quota up to 50,000t (5 yrs) 5 years Cheese Up to 45% Duty-free quotas up to 20,000t (other cheeses) and 5,000t (fresh & processed) 5 years Butter & dairy spreads 20% Duty-free quota up to 2,500t 7 years Whey 10–20% Duty-free quota of 5,000t 1 years Milk & cream 10% Duty-free quota up to 200,000L 5 years Yoghurt, blue cheese & lactose 10–45% Tariffs gradually eliminated 5-7 years Industrial casein 10% Tariff eliminated 5 years Infant formula 10% Tariff reduced to 5% 5 years Cheese drives EU-Mexico dairy tradeIn 2025, the EU exported 14,791 tons of dairy products to Mexico, valued at €104.4 million. Cheese dominated trade, accounting for 12,848 tons (87% of total exports) worth €90.3 million. Although the United States (US) remains Mexico's largest cheese supplier, the Netherlands was by far the largest exporter within the EU shipping 8,883 tons, followed by Italy with 1,019 tons, Spain, Lithuania and Denmark. Outside cheese, trade remained comparatively limited, with butter and whey representing the next largest product categories.Cheese further strengthened its position, with cumulative exports reaching 5,613 tons (+68%) in April, with export values increasing by 30% to €29.7 million. Butter exports also expanded by 23% to 540 tons, and milk powder by 44% to 233 tons, with values more than doubling to €1.7 million (+107%). In contrast, liquid milk exports declined significantly by 92% to less than one ton, while whey exports declined by 44% to 28 tons. The continued expansion of cheese exports reinforces its dominant position ahead of the new agreement.Dutch-style cheeses dominate exportsCheese export growth was concentrated in the other cheese category (HS 040690), which excludes fresh, grated and powdered, and blue-veined cheeses and accounted for 94% of total exports. Gouda remained by far the largest product, with exports increasing by 92% to 3,365 tons, followed by Edam (+128% to 595 tons) and Maasdam (+13% to 122 tons). Together, these Dutch-style cheeses accounted for almost three quarters of EU cheese exports to Mexico, while blue-veined cheeses represented only 4% of total exports and declined by 10% to 193 tons. This trade structure closely matches the products covered by the agreement. The dominant HS 040690 category will benefit from a duty-free quota increasing from 6,000 tons in the first year to 20,000 tons from the fifth year onwards. Fresh and processed cheeses will receive a separate duty-free quota of 5,000 tons, while blue cheeses will instead benefit from the gradual elimination of the existing 20% tariff over seven years.Current trade volumes suggest that the initial quota for other cheese may become binding relatively quickly. Through April, exports already reached almost 90% of the first-year quota, indicating that the gradual expansion of the quota will be important to accommodate future growth. As Dutch-style cheeses dominate EU exports to Mexico, Dutch exporters are well positioned to benefit from the agreement, and the protection of Gouda Holland provides additional support for premium Dutch products. During the first years of implementation, however, competition for access to the quota is likely to become an important factor, as the available duty-free volume will be shared among EU exporters before expansion. Spain leads meat exports to Mexico According to Comext, the EU exported 15,204 tons of pork products and 407 tons of poultry to Mexico in 2025. Pork trade was largely concentrated in pig offals, which totalled 9,327 tons, followed by salted, dried and smoked pork (2,728 tons), while frozen pork represented only 8% of shipments. Poultry exports were considerably smaller and mainly consisted of frozen turkey at 294 tons, followed by frozen chicken (56 tons) and poultry preparations (48 tons).Trade was also highly concentrated among a small number of Member States. Spain accounted for 86% of EU pork exports to Mexico, with Denmark (9%) and the Netherlands (5%) supplying most of the remaining volumes. Spain also dominated poultry exports with a 74% share, followed by the Netherlands (14%), Poland (6%) and France (6%). Therefore, the agreement can improve the competitiveness of Spanish pork and poultry exports in Mexico, allowing European suppliers to compete more effectively with major exporters such as the US and Brazil. Mutual gains with safeguards Overall, the new agreement expands agrifood trade while maintaining protection for sensitive products. The EU is expected to benefit through improved access, while Mexico also gains broader access, including a 5,000-ton beef tariff-rate quota at a 7.5% import duty and a 30,000-ton raw sugar quota at a reduced tariff of €49 per ton, alongside improved access for products such as honey, egg yolk, ethanol and bananas. The phased implementation of tariff reductions over up to seven years, together with the continued use of tariff-rate quotas, aims to limit market disruption while expanding market access. The agreement must now be formally concluded by the Council and ratified by Mexico before entering into force, potentially as early as Q4 2026.