On November 19, 2006 Venezuela formally withdrew from the G-3 Free Trade Agreement of the so-called G-3 Group made up of Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela. The withdrawal, which became effective as of November 19, 2006, states that the preferential customs duty rates provided by the trilateral free trade agreement will not apply to foreign trade transactions between Mexico and Venezuela. The Treaty will remain in effect and continue governing the trade relationship that exists between Mexico and Colombia, according to a series of resolutions and decrees published by Mexico in the Official Journal of the Federation on November 17, 2006, principally in regard to rules of origin and applicable tariff rates for importations of Colombian goods into Mexico covered by the Treaty. The rejection of the treaty, ordered by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, ends ten years of trilateral trade and will affect the sensitive export industries of automobiles, electronics, appliances, chemicals and Mexican steel that previously had been imported to Venezuela under the preferential tariffs, will now be subject to the payment of customs duties ranging from 5% to 35%.
