Outgoing U.S. officials slam Mexican energy policy for bias
15/01/2021 17:35
By David Alire Garcia
MEXICO CITY, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A letter signed by three of
outgoing President Donald Trump's top officials sharply
criticizes the Mexican government's energy policies for what it
describes as damaging the "investment climate" in the country
due to bias against private companies.
The Jan. 11 letter is addressed to three Mexican ministers,
including Energy Minister Rocio Nahle, and warns that actions
taken by the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
could threaten hundreds of millions of dollars in investments in
the sector by U.S. government lenders.
The letter is signed by the U.S. Secretary of State, as well
as the country's commerce and energy secretaries, all of whom
are set to leave office next week after President-elect Joe
Biden formally takes power.
Specifically, the U.S. officials criticize the Mexican
government for instructions to regulators that "allegedly
instructed (them) to block permits for private sector energy
projects" in addition to using their power to unlawfully favor
government-owned energy companies.
"If true, this would be deeply troubling and raise concerns
regarding Mexico's commitments under the USMCA," the U.S.
officials wrote, referring to the new North American trade pact
enacted last year that includes investor protections.
In Mexico, state oil giant Pemex and national electricity
company CFE dominate their respective sectors despite no longer
holding monopoly power.
U.S. energy companies have expressed concerns about extended
delays on permit approvals for retail fuel stations, as well as
efforts by Pemex to wrest away operational control of a big
shared crude deposit discovered by a U.S.-led consortium three
years ago, among other criticisms of the state-centric energy
policy pursued by Lopez Obrador.
Mexico's leftist president has pledged to strengthen
state-run energy companies while simultaneously canceling new
investment opportunities for foreign and private firms.
Nahle's office did not immediately respond to a request for
comment, but in a post on Twitter on Friday she defended "an
appropriate energy balance" in the country.
(Reporting by David Alire Garcia, Editing by William Maclean)
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