Mexico City, Mexico – The free trade agreements with Peru and Central America, which were ratified by the Mexican Senate last month, took effect on Tuesday, a day after the Mexican government published the implementing decrees in the Official Daily.

The Foreign Relations Secretariat published the free trade agreement signed with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua on November 22, 2011 in the Gazette, the official organ of the federal government.

The trade pact will give Mexican products access to these markets, promote regional integration and expand Central America’s competitiveness, officials said.

Central America, according to official figures, has annual imports of nearly $50 billion, with Mexico having an 8% share.

Bilateral trade between Mexico and Central America was up 360 percent, $6.55 billion in 2010.

The free trade agreement with Peru, which was signed on April 6, 2011, and ratified by the Senate on December 15, 2011 was also published in the official gazette.

Trade with Peru is expected to double over the next five years, creating about 17,000 jobs, officials said. Bilateral trade between Mexico and Peru totaled $1.4 billion in 2010, the latest year for which figures are available.

Peru is a more than $27 billion market, but Mexico is currently only the No. 8 exporter to the Andean nation.

The trade agreements’ implementation bolsters the Alliance of the Pacific, which also includes Chile, Peru and Colombia, giving Mexico access to a potential market of 93 million consumers with total imports of $130 billion in 2010.