The president of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has ruled out a break in trade relations with the United States and Canada in the face of consultations on his energy policy for an alleged violation of the TMEC treaty.
“Even in the case of the most important market in the world, if having access to that market implies us giving up sovereignty, we do not accept it. We are not going to hand over our independence to any foreign government,” the Mexican president said shortly before at a press conference, according to has picked up the newspaper ‘La Jornada’.
Lopez Obrador has also assured that he will send a letter to the president of the United States, Joe Biden, to explain Mexico’s position in the context of the conflict over the free trade agreement with Canada, as reported by the newspaper ‘El Universal’.
However, a week ago, the Mexican president ruled out that the consultations claimed by the United States and Canada for an alleged violation of the energy chapter. “There is no violation of the treaty,” he stressed.
That same day, the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade of Mexico, Luz Maria de la Mora, reported that the authorities offered the United States Government a “frank and constructive” dialogue to address their differences in energy policy.
De la Mora indicated, as reported by the Mexican media, that the issue is being analyzed by the government and pointed out that talks with the United States would have to take place within 30 days.
The Mexican government also confirmed that it received a request from Canada to initiate consultations for the same reason, given that Ottawa also considers that Mexico is not complying with the commitments of the treaty in relation to the Electricity Industry Law.
In case of not reaching an agreement on the correct application and interpretation of these provisions, Canada may request the establishment of a commission to decide on this matter.
