U.S. Trade Rep Tai says progress made on Mexico energy issues, concerns remain

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Thursday that some progress had been made concerning an energy dispute with Mexico, but that “deep-seated” concerns persist.

Tai said she was confident that existing dispute resolution mechanisms in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) would be effective in resolving the issue.

“If we are not able to make more progress, the next step in the formal toolkit would be the request for a dispute settlement panel,” she said.

Tai spoke to reporters head of the annual meeting of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Free Trade Commission in the Mexican city of Cancun, with participation from Mexican Economy Secretary Raquel Buenrostro and Canadian Minister of International Trade Mary Ng.

Mexico and the United States are also engaged in a dispute about Mexico’s decree to limit the use of genetically-modified (GM) corn.

Tai said that trade dispute settlement consultations over GM corn that the U.S. requested in June began with Mexico last week.

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