Visits to Mexico by the White House’s special envoy for climate change, John Kerry, occur with increasing frequency and with the focus increasingly concentrated on the Mexican government’s plans for the energy sector, one of the great reforms on Morena’s agenda.
A little over a month ago, Kerry raised the tone after his meeting with Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard by asking Mexico to “strengthen an open and competitive market.”
On Thursday, March 31, the meeting was with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the envoy from the White House arrived accompanied by a handful of companies with interests in the sector.
Following the meeting, Kerry announced the creation of a special team to provide a more direct follow-up to the negotiations.
Nos reunimos con el enviado presidencial especial de Estados Unidos para el Clima, John Kerry, el embajador Ken Salazar y un grupo de empresarios estadounidenses. Considero que fue un encuentro amistoso, necesario y benéfico. pic.twitter.com/dxKJ3L7u8n
— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) April 1, 2022
On behalf of Mexico, the Mexican president has described the meeting as “friendly, necessary and beneficial” through his Twitter account.
The Joe Biden Administration had hardened its position in recent months after initial general support for the electricity reform, which seeks to dismantle the current model and grant a state company —the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE)— the majority management of the market.
From the Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, to the ambassador, Ken Salazar, also present at the meeting this Thursday, they have expressed concern about possible damage to US investors already involved in the business, in addition to future breaches of the T-Treaty. MEC between the two countries and Canada.
A caution that was again evident during the meeting.
The US trade representative, Katherine Tai, sent a letter to the Mexican authorities this week stressing that the current wording of the legislative project clashes with the precepts of the T-MEC.
During the morning conference the day after the meeting, López Obrador insisted, however, that the reform “stays as it is because it already includes what worries the US.”
The president even pointed out that the full text of the legislative initiative was shared with the US delegation. The new monitoring team proposed by the US will have Ambassador Salazar as the main node.
“He will work from Mexico with the White House and our office (of the Special Envoy for Climate) to ensure that what comes out of this reform effort reflects the best way forward,” Kerry said at the exit of the meeting at the National Palace.
Source: El Pais
