Page 16 - NorthAmOil Week 43 2020

NorthAmOil POLICY NorthAmOil

Mexican President
Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador has dismissed
claims that US-based
companies are at an
unfair disadvantage in
his country.

Lopez Obrador dismisses US legislators’

critique of Mexican energy policy

MEXICO-US MEXICAN President Andres Manuel Lopez The president’s policy prescriptions represent
Obrador has dismissed claims that his govern- “a pattern of obstruction” that could harm US
ment’s energy policy puts US-based companies energy companies working in Mexico, they said.
at an unfair disadvantage. “These efforts violate and contradict the
On October 24, Lopez Obrador spoke crit- spirit, if not the letter, of the USMCA, an agree-
ically about the allegations made by 43 mem- ment among whose primary objectives are to
bers of the US Congress in a letter addressed to promote growth among the participant coun-
US President Donald Trump. He was speaking tries,” they added.
the day after Reuters published a report that The US legislators also expressed interest
included short excerpts from the letter, which in preserving the energy reforms adopted in
was dated October 22. (Four Congressional 2013-2014 by former President Enrique Peña Lopez Obrador
sources have confirmed the authenticity of the Nieto. They urged the US president to work
letter, according to the news agency.) with Mexico’s current government to resolve has frequently
The Mexican leader was particularly dismiss- the matter.
ive of the US lawmakers’ assertion that his energy Lopez Obrador has frequently expressed his expressed his
policy contravened provisions of the United opposition to his predecessor’s energy policy,
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), saying he would rather protect and promote opposition to his
the new bilateral trade deal signed earlier this state-owned entities such as Pemex and CFE predecessor’s
year. He pointed out that the USMCA included than seek more foreign investment. He has also
two paragraphs that acknowledge Mexico’s indicated, though, that he prefers to work toward energy policy.
“absolute, sovereign right” to set its own course these goals without amending the country’s
on this front. constitution.
“With much respect, in this matter, we have The Mexican president spoke out against
not signed any agreement with the government the US lawmakers’ claims shortly after the US
of the United States or Canada,” he commented Energy Information Administration (EIA)
during a visit to northern Mexico. noted that US natural gas exports to Mexico
According to Reuters, the letter in question had continued to rise this year, in line with
referenced reports of a leaked memo in which long-standing trends. “These increases have
Lopez Obrador called for Mexico’s regulatory more than offset declines in Mexico’s imports
agencies to use all of the means available to of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and relatively
uphold the interests of Pemex, the national oil smaller declines in Mexico’s domestic natural
company (NOC), and Comision Federal de gas production,” the EIA said in its October 22
Electricidad (CFE), the national power provider. edition of Today in Energy.™

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 43 29•October•2020