Chemical industry asks the federal government to protect the sector

Mexico City. The National Association of the Chemical Industry (ANIQ) proposed to the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo a series of actions to protect the sector, but also to encourage greater investment and internal production.

When inaugurating the National Forum of the Chemical Industry, Claudia Márquez Medina, leader of the business organization, pointed out that it is necessary to guarantee the supply of natural gas, ensure the supply of raw materials at competitive prices, promote innovation through a solid industrial policy and protect the national industry from unfair competition.

“We seek not only to protect the national industry, but also to encourage greater investment and internal production, strengthening the capacity of our companies to compete in a balanced and attractive market for the development of our projects,” he highlighted.

He explained that the country must have a sufficient supply of natural gas produced in the country, since it is essential to reduce the high dependence on imports of this strategic energy source.

Given this, he proposed increasing national production of natural gas, which requires actively promoting the exploration and exploitation of new reserves within the country. This will allow us to guarantee a constant accessible and safe supply of this key resource for the economic and energy development of the nation,” he said.

He pointed out that in the chemical sector, natural gas is not only an energy input, but also through its liquids petrochemical chains begin.

“We propose to modernize and expand the separation capacity of the natural gas processing centers of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex),” he indicated.

He commented that it is necessary to increase the supply of raw materials at competitive prices by the state oil company, for which it is essential to guarantee a reliable supply of essential inputs and ensure the operational continuity of the national chemical industry.

“The industry proposes to carry out a joint strategic analysis with Pemex, identifying priority investment areas to increase production, increase national content and improve reliability in the supply of key raw materials such as ethane, propylene, ammonia, ethylene oxide. , styrenes, among others,” he added.

The ANIQ proposed modernizing and increasing operational reliability in the petrochemical complexes of Cangrejera, Morelos and other Pemex plants through investments that promote their technological update, as well as repairing the Merichem unit at the Madero refinery.

Although President Sheinbaum Pardo has indicated that there will be no public-private investment schemes as was proposed in the neoliberal era, the ANIQ expressed its desire to seek similar mechanisms to reactivate petrochemical assets that are currently inactive or that operate with low efficiency. This, he said, would allow the production of derivatives to increase by more than 600 thousand tons per year and will contribute to reducing the trade balance deficit.

“To strengthen our sector and guarantee its growth, we propose to make permanent the temporary tariff program established by the federal government, thus ensuring effective and long-term protection for the chemical industry.

“Develop more robust trade defense mechanisms that safeguard investment and employment in the sector by promoting an environment of fair and sustainable competition,” he said.