Mexican President Says There Won’t Be Rupture of Trade Pact With US, Canada

The president, whose nationalist energy policy is the source of a trade complaint by his northern neighbors, said on Thursday that being close to the giant US market is “important” for Mexico’s economy but that he wouldn’t accept infringement on the country’s autonomy in exchange for that access.

“If having access to this market implies ceding our sovereignty, we don’t accept it,” he said during a daily press conference, when asked whether he would leave the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement if such a dispute went against him. “We won’t give up our independence to any foreign government.”

AMLO, as the president is known, later said “there won’t be a rupture” of the so-called USMCA deal, since his government is in the right and ending the agreement isn’t in the interests of the US or Mexico.

Read More: Mexico is Preparing for ‘Important’ USMCA Talks, Ebrard Says

Former negotiators of the accord say the dispute may cost Mexico between $10 billion and $30 billion in tariffs. The fallout of a lengthy battle would put investment opportunities at risk for the entire region just as supply chain disruptions from Asia are expected to significantly energize trade within North America.

Lopez Obrador said he will likely write to US President Joe Biden to explain details of the agreement that he thought Biden may not know about.