By James Eugene

In a move to deepen economic ties, Argentina and Mexico both signed a series of trade agreements at the end of July.

Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri and Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Neto both put pen to paper when they signed a total of 17 deals in a bid to bring the two major players in Latin America closer together via better integration and free trade. The series of deals relates to a wide variety of fields: from science and technology to education and social security agreements.

According to Fox News (Latino), Macri was quoted saying:

“We hope the agreements we signed today will multiply and will take us to a time when our two countries will have a free trade agreement of absolute integration, which will in turn lead us to strengthening the best of ourselves and so contribute to making Latin America more solid and more attractive for investment,”

Both presidents have also pledged to increase the scope of the ACE 6 (Acuerdo de Complementacion Economica), a treaty that has been in effect since 1987 with the goal of reducing tariffs on certain goods and also has a framework for the regulation of trade. President Macri is adamant that the deepening and increase in cooperation in regards to the ACE 6 will leave to a free trade agreement being established next year in 2017. In fact, Merco Press has said that both countries are aiming to reach “absolute integration and free trade”.

President Macri has also spoken highly of the Pacific Alliance – a Latin American trade bloc consisting of Peru, Chile, Mexico and Colombia – and has repeatedly highlighted the importance of joining as a member. The trades deals with Mexico will be seen as a sign of how enthusiastic the Argentine president is about joining the group and would potentially be looked upon highly if, or when, a formal application has been submitted.

The Argentine President is continuing to take steps to distance himself from his predecessor and to also move away from a protectionist economy to one that is open to business.