The US on Monday invited Mexico to join a multibillion-dollar push to boost semiconductor manufacturing to compete with China, during a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for high-level economic talks.

Officials set aside trade tensions over Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s energy policies, and focused instead on the potential benefits from cooperation in microchips and other technology.

The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act, which US President Joe Biden signed into law last month, includes about US$52 billion to promote production of microchips.

“Now in China and Taiwan the testing, packaging and assembly industry for semiconductors is a US$60 billion industry. In North America it’s US$3 billion,” said US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, who accompanied Blinken.

“So we’re really very excited about the opportunities for job creation in Mexico and in the United States,” she added.

“The opportunity for Mexico is not just in the manufacturing facilities, but in testing, packaging and assembly,” Raimondo told reporters.

Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard welcomed the US offer to cooperate in semiconductors as “very generous.”

The two sides struck a conciliatory tone when asked about Lopez Obrador’s energy reform efforts, which face opposition from the US and Canada.

Washington in July filed a formal complaint against Mexico under a North American free trade agreement, saying its energy policies discriminated against US firms.

“Dispute settlement under international agreements is a normal part of trade relationships even among the closest of partners,” Blinken said.

“We’re moving full speed ahead in the further integration of our economies and in building the most competitive region in the world. And we’re doing that as you heard through the work on supply chains, on strengthening the work we’re doing together in building a clean energy economy, the work on semiconductors, etc,” he added.

Earlier, Lopez Obrador welcomed the tone of a recent letter from Biden, saying Mexico appreciated its “respectful attitude” compared with the trade complaint, which he described as “not the most diplomatic.”

Lopez Obrador’s push to roll back the effects of liberalization that he says benefited private companies has alarmed foreign investors and environmentalists, who see the moves as favoring fossil fuels over renewable energy.

Washington has requested consultations about the energy dispute under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the first step in a process that could lead to retaliation over actions it says harm US firms and impedes development of clean energy.

Blinken met with Lopez Obrador ahead of the economic talks and discussed issues including cooperation to deal with irregular migration and the synthetic opioid fentanyl, the US Department of State said.

“They also spoke about joint efforts to tackle the climate crisis through investments in clean energy and emerging technologies like electric vehicles, solar technologies, and semiconductors,” a statement said.

 

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