October 15th, 2019.- At the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, located in Washington, D.C, the Mexican Secretary of the Treasury, Arturo Herrera, recognized that economic slowdown and the USMCA “keep him awake at night”
Herrera is in the United States to participate in the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
“Although the national economy has not entered into an economic recession yet, the Government of Mexico is working to curb the slowdown it is currently facing”, Arturo Herrera, head of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), declared on Tuesday October 15th.
“We have a slowdown. We still don’t have a recession. But a slowdown is worrisome, ”said Herrera.
“The plan to curb the economic slowdown in Mexico, will involve an infrastructure spending plan that includes works such as the Peribus in Guadalajara, Jalisco; and a dam in the state of Nuevo León, among others. It also contemplates the generation of projects with private resources such as roads; tenders, and programs funding through development banks”, the secretary explained.
“Let’s keep in mind, that economic activity in our country contracted at the beginning of the third quarter of this year, after narrowly avoiding a recession during the first three months of 2019”, he added.
USMCA
“It is important to specify that Mexico’s economy is closely connected with that of the United States, which also is going through trade conflicts, mainly with China”, Herrera continued.
At the Wilson Center, Arturo Herrera stated he is also concerned about the stagnation in the United States Congress of the approval of the new commercial treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada, known as USMCA.
And he is worried about the possibility that the USMCA, an agreement that would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), could be in risk of becoming bogged down by the U.S. presidential electoral race in 2020 if legislators do not ratify it soon.
Therefore, and taking advantage of his visit to the United States to participate in the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the Mexican Secretary of the Treasury said that part of his team will seek to speak with US lawmakers to give them arguments as to why they should approve the USMCA as soon as possible.
The Yucatan Times Newsroom