Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday softened his stance in a dispute with the United States over the Latin American country’s energy policy, saying Washington had adopted a more conciliatory attitude toward his government’s position.
The president spoke on the same day that top US officials, led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, were to hold talks on economic cooperation with their local counterparts in Mexico City.
In July, the Office of the US Trade Representative demanded dispute resolution talks with Mexico, arguing that a plan by López Obrador to tighten state control of the energy market was unfair to his companies and likely violated a regional trade agreement. .
The Mexican president, who has presented his energy policy as a matter of national sovereignty, then responded defiantly, saying he would defend his approach at the Independence Day military parade next Friday.
However, on Monday he announced that he would no longer address the issue in his September 16 speech because his US counterpart, Joe Biden, had responded positively to his concerns.
“There is a different tone. There is an attitude of respect. Rather, it is the reaffirmation of respect for our sovereignty,” he said in his usual daily press conference, alluding to a letter he claimed to have received from Biden.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard stated last week that the energy dispute was not on the agenda of what is called the High-Level Economic Dialogue between the United States and Mexico. Blinken was scheduled to meet with López Obrador during his visit.
