Latin America Advisor
Energy Advisor
A Publication of The Dialogue
Are Mexico’s Energy Policies Breaking USMCA Rules?
The United States and Canada have requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico, arguing its energy policies favor state power utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad. The company’s director, Manuel Bartlett, is pictured. // File Photo: Comisión Federal de Electricidad.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, or USTR, on July 20 requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, over Mexico’s energy policies, arguing that they put U.S. firms at a disadvantage by favoring Mexico’s state-owned power utility, Comisión Federal de Electricidad, or CFE. The consultation request, which Canada signed on to as well, is among the most serious disputes ever lodged under the USMCA since it took effect two years ago. What do the United States and Canada seek to gain through the consultation request? What are the most important steps in the consultation process, and how long will it take for the case to play out? How has Mexico responded to the USTR and Canadian trade ministry’s accusations?
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Arturo Sarukhan, board member of the Inter-American Dialogue and former Mexican ambassador to the United States: “Washington and Ottawa are rightly concerned about López Obrador’s energy policies and his backward-looking paradigm on fossil fuels, renewables and, ultimately, climate change and the global commons. Yes, they do indeed—despite his protestations to the contrary—run counter to Mexico’s commitments under USMCA, to which he signed on to as president-elect during the renegotiation of NAFTA, and which his government subsequently enacted after congressional ratification with a majority by Morena, the president’s party. But they also seriously affect and undermine the United States’ strategic recalibration vis-à-vis China. North America’s energy security, efficiency, resilience…”
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A sister publication of the Inter-American Dialogue’s daily Latin America Advisor, the weekly Energy Advisor captures fresh analysis from business leaders and government officials on the most important developments in oil and gas, biofuels, the power sector, renewables, new technologies, and the policy debates shaping the future of energy in the Western Hemisphere and beyond. To subscribe or for more information, contact Erik Brand, publisher of the Advisor, at ebrand@thedialogue.org.
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