Mexico doing all it can to protect trade agreement with US, Canada, official says

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico is doing everything it can to protect a regional trade agreement with the U.S. and Canada, the Latin American nation's deputy economy minister said in an interview published on Friday.

Mexico is working on security and migration issues in order to "come to the table" to negotiate without obstacles, Luis Rosendo Gutierrez told outlet Inside Trade, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on Mexico if those issues were not addressed.

Gutierrez added that Mexican officials had been in touch with people close to Trump, though they have not meet with incoming administration officials. The exception is Jamieson Greer, Trump's tapped trade representative, with whom Gutierrez met before his nomination.

Gutierrez traveled to Washington to meet with U.S. business and farm groups, as well as lawmakers, Inside Trade reported.

The official said that Mexico was looking to develop an investment screening process, similar to the U.S.' Committee on Foreign Investment.

When asked if that would affect Chinese automaker BYD's plans to build a factory in the Latin American country, Gutierrez responded that Mexico wants "to play with the same rules" as its trade allies.

BYD has stressed that its plant would serve the local market, and not the United States.

Mexico could dole out incentives in manufacturing, particularly in battery production, Gutierrez added.

"We can be a very efficient complement for the American economy," Gutierrez said, highlighting the U.S.' push to develop industry through the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act.



(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)