Washington invites Mexico to participate in its giant microprocessor project

Mexico – AFP
On Monday, the United States invited Mexico to participate in its huge $ 50 billion project to support North American microprocessor manufacturing to cope with competition from Asia.
During a flash visit to Mexico, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on the Mexican government to exploit the Chip and Science Act.
And this law, recently signed by President Joe Biden, requires large investments to face Asian competition in microprocessor manufacturing. American diplomacy is making great efforts in this regard with its partners.
The goal, Blinken said, is “to develop a more stable supply chain” in the face of the dominance of Asian countries.
Anthony Blinken added that: “The basic building blocks of the semiconductor production chain are in Mexico” and specifically mentioned the company name “Intel”.
At the conclusion of a meeting of the “high-level economic dialogue” between the two countries, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said in a joint press conference with his American counterpart that this means “more jobs in Mexico”.
No specific details have been released about potential US investments in Mexico in the microprocessor sector.
The proposal, put forward by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, allows the two countries to close their disagreement on the energy reform launched by Mexico and condemned by the United States and Canada under the free trade agreement of the three nations.
Washington sees President Lopez Obrador’s desire to promote Mexican public companies as a threat to foreign investment and renewable energy.
Blinken said the matter would be resolved under the Convention and its dispute settlement mechanism. These discussions, she said, are part of “any business relationship, even between the closest partners”.
The Mexican foreign minister confirmed that the issue was only briefly raised during Blinken’s meeting with President Lopez Obrador.
President Joe Biden’s envoy, who arrived in the Mexican capital at noon, spoke of the “common threat to the production and trafficking of fentanyl.”
The United States is witnessing the spread of this industrial drug with its devastating effects.
Blinken and the Mexican president stressed the need for “safe, orderly and human-faced” migration and discussed their “joint efforts to combat the climate crisis and renewable energy”.
The US State Department said Blinken touched on “regional efforts to support Haitians” and the cooperation of Mexico and the United States to make the United Nations more “effective”.
Mexico is the United States’ second largest trading partner, and the volume of trade between them was approximately $ 725 billion in 2021, according to official data.

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