Mexican employers criticize changes in the Government’s foreign trade rules

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Tuesday, Mexico’s Business Coordinating Council (CCE) called on the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador to reverse modifications to foreign trade rules that benefit state-owned companies “to the detriment of the private sector.”

“The CCE expresses its deep concern over administrative changes that violate various constitutional principles and international treaties on freedom of labor, economic competition, free trade, and non-discriminatory treatment,” it said in a statement.

On June 11, the Government published a modification to the General Foreign Trade Rules that establish that only state-owned companies may import and export hydrocarbon, petroleum, mineral, and chemical precursor goods in a place other than the authorized place (LDA).

This is a mechanism used by the public sector and the private sector to expedite the export or import of goods with special characteristics.

“Restricting its use only to State Productive Enterprises artificially displaces private-sector competitors in strategic areas such as the supply of energy, the chemical and petrochemical industry, and national mining,” denounced the employers’ association.

The businessmen considered that “Mexico runs the risk of not having indispensable goods for the industrial sector and Mexican homes”.

According to their calculations, between 25% and 48% of oil imports could be affected.

“The lack of supply of products such as gasoline or materials for industrial processes could slow down the country’s economic recovery, with its corresponding inflationary effects”, they warned.

President López Obrador maintains a legal battle to push forward his energy reform that prioritizes the public energy companies Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) and Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) ahead of private generators.