Mexico stands firm on energy policy after Canada joins US demand – AméricaEconomía

Mexico City. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday that his government had not violated a regional trade agreement, responding to news that Canada had joined the United States’ request for talks to resolve differences over energy policies.

The Canadian government said last Wednesday that it would request, as the US government did, that it hold consultations with Mexico on some Mexican energy policies that it considers to be in violation of the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC).

“We agree with the United States that these policies are inconsistent with Mexico’s obligations under United States, Mexico and Canada law,” Alice Hansen, a spokeswoman for Canadian International Trade Minister Marie Ng, said in a statement sent to Reuters.

Previously, the White House Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it would begin consultations with Mexico on certain Mexican policies and measures affecting US investments.

The Ministry of Economy announced in its first response that the Mexican government intends to reach an agreement with the United States at the consultation stage.

Trade retaliation measures are considered a final possibility if both parties fail to resolve this conflict.

“What next? We will comment internally, at the governmental level, on the questions that the United States puts to us. Within 30 days, we will have to sit down with the states,” Luz Maria de la Mora, undersecretary for foreign trade at the Ministry of Economy, said in an interview with the media. united to speak.

The stipulated period of consultations is 75 days, but this does not mean that it cannot be extended further.

See also  Lopez Obrador will speak with Biden and Trudeau about COVID-19 and the economy

The Mexican government confirmed, last night, that it had received a request to start consultations from the Canadian government.

The United States has begun the process of bringing a commission to resolve a dispute against Mexico under the T-MEC, arguing for discriminatory policies in favor of Pemex and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE).

“The government of Mexico expresses its readiness to reach a mutually satisfactory solution during the consultation phase,” the Economy Ministry said.

The consultations constitute the non-controversial phase of the General Dispute Resolution Mechanism provided for in the T-MEC.

This is the fourth time that the T-MEC’s ​​Chapter 31 Public Dispute Resolution Mechanism has been used.

Since the trade agreement went into effect, the United States has initiated action against Canada to distribute quotas in the dairy sector; Canada v. the United States for preventive action on photovoltaics; Mexico and Canada v. the United States for interpretation and application of rules of origin in the automotive sector.

Aileen Morales

"Beer nerd. Food fanatic. Alcohol scholar. Tv practitioner. Writer. Troublemaker. Falls down a lot."

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top