Geodis highlights ‘immense untapped potential’ of EU-Mexico trade deals

Freight forwarder Geodis has welcomed the revamped trade agreements between the EU and Mexico, which it expects to reduce uncertainty for shippers, improve long-term planning, and support trade flows.

“From a freight forwarding perspective, industries that are already deeply integrated across North America and Europe could potentially benefit the most,” Guillaume Bournisien, Managing Director of Freight Forwarding in the US and Canada, at French group Geodis, told AJOT in an interview.

“For example, automotive, industrial manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare, consumer goods, and certain luxury or retail segments. That said, the actual impact will depend on implementation details, customs procedures, rules of origin, and the broader tariff environment.”

Mexico continues to present strong long-term trade and manufacturing potential, he underlined, particularly as companies diversify sourcing strategies and look to strengthen regional supply chains within the Americas.

“We’re continuing to observe sustained interest in the region from our customers who are evaluating near-shoring or multi-country sourcing models.”

Paving the Way for Expansion

Also interviewed by AJOT was Miguel Muñoz, Geodis’ Managing Director, Mexico, who highlighted that the modernized trade agreements would benefit both shippers and forwarders since several of Mexico’s strategic sectors are targeted and prioritized directly.

“We anticipate seeing the greatest impacts across automotive, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and critical minerals.”

“The new agreements directly pave the way for new expansion. Currently, our operational flows are heavily import-driven, at approximately 80% compared to 20% for export flows.

Under the new (trade) terms, a majority of goods will become entirely tariff-free over the next couple of years, incentivizing export activity to Europe, he noted.

In particular, we see pharmaceutical and medical devices largely driving exports since Mexico proved its robust manufacturing capabilities during COVID-19 when it became a major global source for respirators. We also see other high-value sectors like automotive and high-tech as top areas for export growth as we look to balance our dual logistics flows.”

‘Immense Untapped Potential’

In response to the shift in manufacturing from Asia to Latin America, Geodis has positioned itself as a primary partner for companies looking to de-risk their supply chains and access the US market quickly.

The group’s activities in Mexico span contract logistics and freight forwarding, and its growing workforce — which at present stands at 3,300 team members — serves over 500 customers, supported by a stock of warehousing space totaling nearly 250,000 sqm. Last year, it opened an office in Guadalajara.

“We have a strong foundation in handling exports to Europe, having successfully managed high-tech export flows to various European markets over the last 10-15 years. The new agreements now present a massive opportunity to expand our current export capabilities, particularly within the targeted sectors like automotive, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and critical minerals.

“There is immense untapped international trade potential considering the over 40,000 European companies that are active or potential importers to Mexico, and we expect to see a boost in export-focused activities based on these agreements. Beyond the targeted verticals, there is strong trade potential in perishable goods and even cross-border service outsourcing, like providing medical diagnostics developed by Mexican health specialists to European companies.”

EU-US Deal Finally Approved

Turning to the new trade framework between the EU and the U.S., President Trump had accused the European bloc of dragging its feet and exerted pressure with threats of higher tariffs on EU automobile exports to the US. However, the so-called Turnberry Agreement was finally approved on May 20th, which, in principle, ends a period of upheaval in trade relations and ushers in one of greater visibility.

“The logistics industry benefits from stability, transparency, and predictability in international trade policy. Any measures that increase uncertainty or create abrupt cost increases can impact planning, sourcing decisions, and transportation flows for both shippers and logistics providers. Broadly, many companies today are focusing less on purely optimizing costs and more on building resilient, diversified, and adaptable supply chains capable of responding to geopolitical and trade policy changes.”