A dozen Republican and Democratic senators from the United States sent a letter addressed to President Joe Biden in which they expressed their concern about what they called “anti-business rhetoric” by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The legislators pointed out that the Government of Mexico has carried out a series of “attacks and violations” of the Trade Agreement between Mexico, the United States, and Canada (T-MEC), for which they ask the president to act accordingly.
The above, refers to the letter, in relation to the suspension of activities of the US mining company Vulcan, owner of Calica, whose concession in Playa del Carmen was suspended earlier this month by orders of the Mexican Government.
“Vulcan Materials Company is not the only US enterprise to be harassed by the Mexican government, and we express our concern about President López Obrador’s anti-business attitude and rhetoric. There have been a number of surprising cases, particularly in energy where multiple US-owned facilities have been forced to close,” says the document held by El Financiero.
An ‘escalation’ of hostilities
The letter details that, for more than 30 years, Vulcan Materials Company, owner of the Calizas Industriales del Carmen (Calica) mining company, operated a concession to extract limestone in Quintana Roo. However, in 2018, Vulcan initiated an international arbitration procedure against Mexico, whose government prohibited the operation in two of the three fields owned by the US company.
“In January of this year, President López Obrador began an escalation of hostilities, directly interfering with Vulcan’s ability to export materials and making numerous public statements advocating that Vulcano stop mining,” the letter reads.
This is in reference to the fact that on May 5, the Government of Mexico presented Vulcan with closure orders to immediately cease all extraction and quarrying activities in the only active deposit that the mining company had left, located in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo.
The foregoing, despite the fact that Vulcan is the owner of the concessions for that deposit and that, according to the legislators, the mining company has all the necessary permits to operate.
“We write to you urging you to prioritize and address the recent aggression by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his administration towards US companies with investments and operations in Mexico,” the letter states.
“If these violations are allowed to continue, they will undermine mutually beneficial economic cooperation between our nations and encourage companies to seek more predictable and suitable markets elsewhere. Therefore, we respectfully request that you take immediate action with respect to the Government of Mexico to reverse the harmful measures it has already taken and to prevent further damage to the economic relationship between the United States and Mexico,” warns the letter signed by the legislators.
The letter was signed by the senators of the American Union, Bill Hagerty, Richard Shelby, Rick Scott, Tommy Tuberville, Roger F. Wicker, Bill Cassidy, Ted Cruz, Roger Marshall, Marco Rubio, and John Cornyn.
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