“Both the president (of the United States) (Joe) Biden and I are going to be (…) quite clear with the president (of Mexico) (Andrés Manuel) López Obrador that this (…) must be understood as a way to help Mexico develop to attract investment from companies in Canada and the United States,” Trudeau told Reuters.
Asked if he expected progress on the issue at the Mexico City summit, he replied: “Absolutely.”
Trudeau will arrive in the Mexican capital on Monday for a three-day visit, which will include bilateral meetings with Biden and López Obrador. On Monday, he will meet with business leaders from the three countries.
López Obrador has vowed to reactivate the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), which he says were deliberately undermined by his predecessors and ceded the local market to foreigners.
“I understand that he wants to put more emphasis on state-owned energy companies,” Trudeau said in his office in Ottawa, “but this has to be done responsibly, in a way that understands that he is part of (TMEC) and has to abide by those rules.”
The United States and Canada are challenging changes to Mexican law that prioritize the distribution of CFE-generated power over cleaner energy sources provided by private sector providers, such as wind and solar.
“Canadian companies have invested around C$13 billion ($9.675 million) in energy infrastructure. In Mexico, C$5 billion is specifically in renewable energy,” Trudeau said.
His message to business leaders will be that the new trade pact is working, he said, and is “creating jobs, opportunity and growth in all our countries.”
Talks with Biden are likely to focus on “maximizing economic opportunity” because major “economic turmoil is coming in the coming months,” Trudeau said, alluding to supply chains, the war in Ukraine, inflation and rates of higher interest.
