“Due to the change of rules, mainly in the energy sector, I can say that it is not an opportune time to invest in Mexico,” said the U.S. ambassador in Mexico, Christopher Landau, during a virtual meeting with industrialists.
MEXICO (Times Media Mexico) Christopher Landau, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, made strong statements to his country’s industrialists in a virtual meeting. “Some of the actions, especially in the energy sector, have created uncertainty about the Mexican government’s promise to respect what was done in the past and not to change the rules of the game,” said Landau, participating in a virtual forum organized by the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin).
A couple of hours after making the statement, Landau wrote on Twitter: “Investors are looking for certainty, and there is nothing worse than changing the rules of the game.
Se está reportando que yo comenté esta mañana a la CONCAMIN que no es momento oportuno para invertir en México. Eso no lo dije. Lo que dije es que los inversionistas buscan la certidumbre, y que no hay nada peor que cambiar las reglas del juego.
— Embajador Ken Salazar (@USAmbMex) June 25, 2020
In the meeting with Concamin, the ambassador stated, according to the recording of the conference:
“Trying to encourage investment from my fellow countrymen. But I cannot lie to you either, or can I tell you that this is an opportune moment to invest in Mexico if you see things that are very discouraging for foreign investment. We have seen some worrying things in several sectors. Mexico is a sovereign country as we are and any country; it has the right to establish or change its domestic economic or social policies, but those changes can have very negative points in terms of investment”.
The ambassador’s statement came six days before the entry into force of Mexico, the United States and Canada Treaty (TMEC) and hours after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ratified, at the daily press conference, that he plans to visit the United States in the coming days to meet with President Donald Trump.
We have not seen a great wave of new investment in Mexico; on the contrary, it has been a great effort to preserve existing investments, Landau explained at the meeting with Concamin. “You cannot say at the same time: ‘we want to attract investment and capital from other parts of the world’ and also say: ‘we are going to change the rules’. One impacts the other, one cannot have both policies at the same time, or a country has the policy to attract investment, or a country has the policy to scare off investment,” Landau said.
Landau considered that the present is a “golden moment” for Mexico to attract foreign investment. “I hope the country doesn’t waste it, because for me it would be a historical tragedy to lose that opportunity”.
He said that following the reconfiguration of the supply chains and the entry into force of the T-MEC, the nation could be a pole of attraction for investment, a window that will not be open much longer.
Landau considered that part of the security and prosperity of the United States originates from the fact that both factors are fulfilled in Mexican territory, so they seek to cooperate in this.
1 comment
Sad to have neighbors like the US who mistreat their neighbors. No news stating any charity given to Mexicans especially to the deprived ones during this pandemic. Yet, Mexicans await for scraps in the form of expats who can’t afford US living and those littering the country of drugs and alcohol. Mexicans better gear up in education and science if they don’t want their people treated like dogs.