US ‘cautiously optimistic’ Mexico will moderate energy bill

Mexico may moderate President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s electricity reform bill after the U.S. and private companies expressed concerns about the nationalist proposal, Ken Salazar, U.S. ambassador to the Latin American country, said.

In an interview in the ambassador’s residence, Salazar said he has told the government of U.S. energy companies’ worries about the bill, which threatens to tear up private contracts in an effort to strengthen the state utility.

“The Mexican government has assured us they are taking those concerns into consideration and that they are going to try to come to a resolution,” he said. “I am hopeful, cautiously optimistic, but only time will tell.”

Salazar offered little hope for Mexico and Canada over two cases that threaten to go to a dispute panel—a proposed tax credit for electric vehicles and a protectionist interpretation of trade deal rules over the origins of car parts. He said it’s now for lawmakers to decide over the tax credit’s inclusion in the Build Back Better bill being debated in the Senate, while he had no news on whether efforts on auto parts could succeed. 

Relations have warmed between the U.S. and Mexico in 2021, following four rocky years of Donald Trump’s presidency. Top officials have held regular meetings, and the two countries are working on strategies to drive economic development in Central America in an effort to tackle migration.