United States increased the pressure on Mexico for the electrical reform promoted by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that seeks to reduce the participation of its companies in the sector and that is also rejected by Canada and Spain.
In a statement released this Friday by the embassy of the United States in Mexicothe concerns expressed by the White House Special Envoy for Climate, John Kerry during his Thursday meeting with President López Obrador on the energy sector and the “possible violation of the fundamental obligations of the USMCA“, as a result of the reform proposed by the Mexican Government, which will be debated during April in the Congress of the Union.
“This is a critical time. We must accelerate the fight against climate change, and to do so, we need to work together to seize the economic opportunity that clean energy development presents,” Secretary Kerry said.
At the end of the meeting on March 31, the United States ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, echoed this sentiment, stating that “the United States and Mexico have an extraordinary opportunity to create an economic powerhouse in North America, leading the world in clean energy. Mexico is our most important partner and is endowed with extraordinary renewable energy potential that must be harnessed.”
During the meeting, which was also attended by senior officials from both countries, Secretary Kerry and the ambassador Salazar addressed the basic principles that “should guide policy in the energy sectorincluding the rapid acceleration of renewable energy,” the US embassy said.
John Kerry emphasized the opportunity for both countries to show leadership in fighting the global climate crisis by stepping up efforts. “These commitments include taking decisive action to implement policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors and to significantly accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.”
“The existing projects and contracts that a large number of renewable energy providers in the United States have with the Mexican government represent a solid foundation for the development of the future of clean energy in North America,” the US authorities reiterated.
Meanwhile, López Obrador revealed in his morning conference this Friday that during the five-hour meeting – attended by American businessmen – he opposed a team from the neighboring country monitoring the process that is advancing in Congress.
“Imposing a group to watch over us, to observe us, nobody allows that. Maybe in other times, with submissive governments, submissive, but it’s not like before,” he said at his usual press conference.
However, the federal president reiterated that his government will respect the fuel import permits of the US oil companies Exxon, Valero, Koch, Shell and Tesoro (Marathon).
“The import permits that were delivered to five oil companies to introduce fuel under conditions of fair prices and legality will be respected,” said López Obrador from the National Palace.
This was the third visit of Kerry to Mexico in five months and joined those of other officials such as the US trade representative, katherine tai.
“Mexico’s energy policies harm the environment, US business and investor interests (…) and hamper joint efforts to mitigate climate change,” he said. Thai last Monday during a meeting with businessmen and environmentalists in his country.
López Obrador’s reform proposes reserving at least 54% of energy production for the Federal electricity commission (CFE), against the current 38% and 62% held by the private sector. It also proposes a state monopoly on the exploitation of lithium.
The Mexican president maintained, however, that the relationship with the Joe Biden government is “very good” and that he will maintain a channel of communication with Washington through the US ambassador, Ken Salazar.
Warning
Breaking security protocol, Kerry told the press Thursday after the meeting, on a street near the National Palace, that the United States will form its own team to follow the legislative process.
For that country and Canada, the changes to the legislation could contravene the North American trade agreement, USMCAwhich López Obrador denies.
In statements to the newspaper Reforma published this Friday, Kerry he maintained that the president was warned that if the norm is approved without modifications, there will be “a clear response” from Washington in the commercial field.
“We agreed on a set of principles that we hope will be incorporated into the reform,” the envoy said, according to the newspaper’s translation.
However, President López Obrador assured this Friday that his party, Morena, will seek to vote on the reform as it is now in the United Commissions on Energy and Constitutional Points of the Chamber of Deputies that are getting ready to analyze and discuss the proposal during April.
The amendment is also rejected by the Spanish government and companies, which warn that the change in the rules of the game -including “retroactive regulations”- “generates legal uncertainty and damages that affect the investment climate.”
In addition, they warn that in environmental matters it could be incompatible with the current trade agreement with the European Unionaccording to a joint document in which they recall that Spain is the second country -after the United States- with the largest number of companies established in Mexico (6,500).
“It is not true that the initiative has to do with promoting dirty energy,” said López Obrador this Friday, noting that his government is modernizing six refineries, has not authorized fracking to extract oil and its energy production from coal represents 2.1% of what the United States generates with that mineral.
international instances
The project, currently under discussion in the Congress of the Union, is a reform of the Constitution and therefore requires the vote of two thirds of the legislators, an amount that Morena and her allies do not meet. They need votes from opponents, who have so far rejected the proposal en bloc.
The next week, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) will discuss whether another reform to a secondary law of the electricity sector, already approved in Congress, is constitutional or not.
According to jurists, if the highest court endorses this text, it would not be necessary to reform the Constitution.
In this case, the last resort for those who disagree with the reform would be international bodies, including the dispute panel of the Trade Agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada (USMCA).
(With information from AFP and Reuters.)
kg