Mexico’s Energy Policy/South Korea Donates COVID-19 Doses

AMLO defends Mexico’s Energy Policy. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced he would send a letter to US President Joe Biden to address US´ companies’ complaints about Mexico's energy policy and clarified that the USMCA is not being violated. “Today I am sending a very respectful letter to President Biden to clarify that Mexico's energy policy is a national matter. I send this letter knowing that we have to take care of our relationship, but making it clear that Mexico is a sovereign country, not a colony. Therefore, they should not intervene in national matters."

Last month, the US and Canada requested trade dispute talks with Mexico, arguing that due to its energy policies, Mexico is not fulfilling its obligations under the USMCA. Both countries said that Mexico is favoring state-owned companies CFE and PEMEX over private and foreign ones, and as a consequence is hurting their investments and restricting market access. The Mexican Minister of Economy announced that the country is interested in finding a win-win solution for all countries. Experts argue that if the USMCA complaint remains unresolved, Mexico could face retaliatory tariffs.

South Korea will donate vaccines to Mexico. Deputy Minister Hugo López-Gatell announced that South Korea will send 804,000 COVID-19 doses to Mexico, which will be applied to minors.. “We deeply appreciate this donation from the Republic of Korea. We will be receiving the new doses in five shipments; two this week and three next week. This will allow us to continue on the right track with the vaccination of minors.”

According to the Ministry of Health, 31 percent of the child population in Mexico, which are around 15 million, have received at least one COVID-19 dose. The Ministry announced that the fifth wave of COVID-19 is already on the decline as there are fewer cases, hospitalizations and deaths every day.