FILE PHOTO: Excess natural gas is burnt, or flared, from Mexican state-owned Pemex's Tula oil refinery, located adjacent to the Tula power plant belonging to national power company Comision Federal de Electricidad, or CFE, in Tula de Allende, north of Mexico City, Mexico June 22, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo
USTR said the requested consultations relate to Mexican measures that it argues disadvantage U.S. firms in favor of Mexican state-owned power utility Comision Federal de Electricidad and oil producer Petroleos Mexicanos . "We have repeatedly expressed serious concerns about a series of changes in Mexico's energy policies and their consistency with Mexico's commitments under the USMCA," U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in the announcement.
Mexico's Supreme Court in April upheld contentious electricity legislation passed in 2021 that mandates that CFE should take priority over privately-run power providers on dispatch, or when plants come online.