Page 5 - NorthAmOil Week 27 2021

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

Meeting in Mexico City to give Pemex and other state-owned com-
On July 7, US Trade Representatives (USTR) panies, such as the national power provider
Katherine Tai and Canadian Export Promotion Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE), every
and International Trade Minister Mary Ng met possible advantage. He recently indicated that he
in Mexico City with Mexican Economy Minister was willing to lobby for a constitutional amend-
Tatiana Clouthier to mark the one-year anniver- ment enshrining the desired arrangement,
sary of USMCA. despite the fact that his political coalition lost its
Discussions between the three sides were super-majority in both chambers of the National
generally congenial, but both Tai and Ng said Congress.
after the meeting that they remained concerned For another, Lopez Obrador is still in a posi-
about Mexican energy policies. tion to argue that his efforts to champion Pemex
Ng, for example, told reporters that Ottawa and CFE fall within the realm of domestic policy
was closely observing Mexico City’s actions on – and are, therefore, subject to Trump’s pledge
this front. Canada has expressed “ongoing con- of non-interference. That pledge is spelled out
cern [about] the investment climate in Mexico, in two paragraphs of USMCA that acknowledge Lopez Obrador is
specifically in [the] energy and mining sectors,” Mexico’s “absolute, sovereign right” to formu- still in a position
she commented. late its own internal energy policy, the president
Tai spoke similarly, emphasising that Wash- noted last year. to argue that
ington would continue to pay close attention to Additionally, conditions within Mexico are
the Lopez Obrador administration’s priorities still fluid. Lopez Obrador has not yet tried to his efforts to
and policies. secure legislative approval for constitutional
“With respect to the energy policies that we amendments that would guarantee the primacy champion Pemex
see being discussed and envisioned by the Lopez of Pemex and CFE, and he has yet to reveal and CFE fall
Obrador administration, we are watching very when he might do so. Meanwhile, the country’s
closely ... We are raising our concerns. We are Supreme Court is likely to challenge the pres- within the realm
here to engage,” she said. ident’s attempts to give state-owned giants an
She was responding to a question about the edge over private-sector competitors through of domestic
recent decision by the Mexican Secretariat of measures such as exempting them from certain
Energy (SENER) to transfer operatorship of reporting requirements. If it does, his plans for policy
Zama, an oilfield located offshore Tabasco State, Pemex and CFE may remain in limbo for some
from US-based Talos Energy to Pemex. (Though time.
she did not comment directly on the latest devel- Nevertheless, trade and competition issues
opments in the Zama project, she did indicate remain on the radar, figuratively speaking, of the
that the transfer, which has drawn heavy criti- US government. Washington and Ottawa may
cism from Talos, had not escaped Washington’s be confining themselves to watchful waiting
attention.) right now and not taking any concrete action,
but they are on the alert for changes that might
Watch and wait present more challenges to US and Canadian
The expressions of concern by Tai and Ng are companies seeking to establish or expand a foot-
not likely to have much impact in the short term. hold in the Mexican market.
For one thing, they are unlikely to convince If any such changes occur, Tai and Ng’s
Lopez Obrador to change course. next meeting with Clouthier might be a more
The Mexican president remains determined uncomfortable affair. ™

Lopez Obrador (left) and Trump (right) signed USMCA last year (Photo: WhiteHouse.gov)

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