Removing obstacles and facilitating Vietnam-Mexico trade   

On October 30, 2025, on the sidelines of the 36th APEC Ministerial Meeting on Foreign Affairs and the Economy in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien held a bilateral meeting with Mexico’s Minister of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, to discuss measures aimed at strengthening economic, trade, and investment cooperation, as well as coordination in regional and global frameworks such as the CPTPP.

During the meeting, both ministers affirmed their commitment to deepening trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Mexico. Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown robustly in recent years. In 2024 and the first nine months of 2025, trade turnover maintained an impressive growth rate of over 20 percent.

Total bilateral trade in 2024 reached USD 6.4 billion, up 21.8 percent, while trade in the first nine months of 2025 reached USD 5.9 billion, up 24.2 percent. Mexico is currently Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner in Latin America (after Brazil), while Vietnam ranks as Mexico’s eighth-largest trading partner in Asia.

The two Ministers agreed to intensify cooperation to sustain achievements in economic and trade relations while exploring new directions and solutions to address challenges and create favorable conditions for businesses from both sides to engage in trade and investment. They reached consensus on several measures to enhance cooperation, including:

Reviewing and actively implementing the outcomes of the third meeting of the Vietnam - Mexico Joint Committee on Economic, Trade, and Investment Cooperation (held in September 2021).

Promoting business connectivity and facilitating participation in each other’s trade promotion events to advance practical and effective bilateral trade cooperation.

Enabling enterprises to maximize the benefits of the CPTPP to promote trade and investment exchanges.

The two Ministers also discussed specific challenges faced by businesses in both countries during investment and business operations in Vietnam and Mexico. Minister Nguyen Hong Dien proposed that Mexico help remove obstacles for Vietnamese steel exporters. Minister Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon agreed, and both sides committed to facilitating the provision of sufficient information by Vietnamese enterprises to ensure the protection of their legitimate rights and interests.

The ministers also agreed to maintain regular and timely exchanges to resolve emerging issues in bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

Encouraging Vietnamese Enterprises to Invest in Mexico

Speaking to the Industry and Trade Newspaper about Vietnam - Mexico trade relations and the implementation of the CPTPP, the Vietnam Trade Office in Mexico reported that after more than five years of implementation, the CPTPP has brought significant progress in bilateral trade. Vietnamese enterprises have effectively leveraged the agreement’s commitments to expand market share, despite the global trend toward protectionism.

According to data from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography, in the first seven months of 2025, Mexico’s imports from Vietnam increased by 29.23 percent, while exports to Vietnam rose by 36.06 percent. The five largest import categories from Vietnam included telephones and telecommunications devices (up 50.3 percent), footwear (up 72.7 percent), transport equipment and spare parts (up 29.1 percent), and coffee (up 144.1 percent).

The Vietnam Trade Office noted that Vietnamese exporters have effectively taken advantage of CPTPP tariff preferences, especially as Mexico applies import duties on countries without a free trade agreement, such as China. Increasingly, Mexican companies are showing interest in the Vietnamese market, with many businesses contacting the Trade Office for information one week and confirming trips to Vietnam the following week.

However, opportunities also come with challenges. Vietnam’s steel sector, in particular, has faced multiple anti-dumping investigations by Mexican producers, first on galvanized steel, followed by cold-rolled steel, hot-rolled steel, welding wire, and most recently, steel wire. Other product groups may also face similar risks if companies fail to meet CPTPP commitments in the textile and garment sector. Therefore, it is essential for the Vietnamese Government to adopt firm measures to ensure compliance and provide a sound legal environment for enterprises, while close cooperation from the business community is equally vital.

The Vietnam Trade Office in Mexico recommended that Vietnamese enterprises consider establishing distribution warehouses for processed agricultural products in Mexico to meet the sourcing needs of domestic distributors and supermarket chains serving the market of over 134 million consumers.

Moreover, Vietnamese companies are encouraged to take advantage of Mexico’s competitive labor costs and extensive network of free trade agreements to manufacture, distribute, and re-export to the United States and other markets in the region. The Trade Office emphasized that Vietnamese enterprises should confidently invest in Mexico, a market full of potential and opportunity.