Canada, Mexico and the United States of America (USA) have agreed to a massive import substitution program. It will allow North America to reduce dependence on the supply of chips from Asia, as well as increase joint trade, restore supply chains and increase cooperation in the energy sector, in particular in the field of "green" energy. The leaders of the countries announced the agreements following the results of trilateral talks in Mexico City, Reuters reports .
U.S. President Joe Biden, Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held talks in Mexico City that resulted in an agreement to step up trade cooperation and rebuild supply chains hit by the coronavirus era. The US has also pushed for increased investment in semiconductor manufacturing to reduce the region's dependence on supplies from Asia. However, there is still no clarity in the projects, since certain differences remain between Mexico on the one hand and the United States and Canada on the other in the energy sector.
Washington and Ottawa are dissatisfied with the protectionist policy of Mexico City in the energy sector, which is an obstacle to the development of cooperation between the countries. However, the conflict was not discussed in detail at the trilateral meeting: as the agency notes, the parties did not want to spoil the overall positive mood, and they intend to consider differences in the energy sector during bilateral negotiations. The essence of the conflict was the distribution of preferences in favor of Mexican state-owned energy companies at a time when North America was experiencing an oil shortage, which led to an increase in the price of gasoline and power generation.
The dissatisfaction with Mexico comes more from Canada, which has invested about $10 billion in local energy infrastructure and would like to have a more level playing field in the local market, closer to those of state-owned companies. However, since coming to power, Obrador has begun to create more comfortable conditions for the national power grid giants Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) and oil Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex).
Particular attention during the negotiations was paid to the development of "green" energy, especially hydrogen. The parties agreed to invest in joint projects, as well as to promote the energy transition within the countries. The countries also discussed issues of illegal migration from Mexico and the joint fight against local drug cartels.