The economy will receive 575 million pesos “for the defense and negotiation of international treaties” – El Financiero

The Ministry of Economy will have 575 million pesos at its disposal to negotiate, manage and defend matters related to international trade and investment treaties and agreements, in accordance with the 2022 standards published by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP).

This budget line has replaced PROSOFT and Innovation, Industrial Productivity and Competitiveness Program, and Micro Credits for Well-being.

It should be noted that from 2021, the microcredit program will become the responsibility of the Ministry of Welfare, despite the presence of a smaller budget, as 2.5 billion pesos were allocated in 2020, while this year it will be only one thousand. 500 million. Peso.

The Under Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Trade under Luz María de la Mora is the federal government body empowered to negotiate, administer, and defend international trade and investment treaties and agreements.

In recent weeks, the private sector and the agri-food sector in the United States have denounced on various fronts that Mexico does not comply with at least 12 chapters of the treaty concluded between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), so it is possible in the event that the mechanisms of dispute settlement against the state are activated. , The government must have the human and financial resources to defend itself.

Additionally, Jonathan Knott, UK Trade Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean, indicated in an interview with El Financiero that at the end of this, Mexico and the UK will begin negotiating an ambitious and modern free trade agreement.

“Once the discussions start later this year, the goal will be to ensure more openness for our companies in the areas that really matter to us, including digital trade, services and intellectual property,” he said.

To date, Mexico has 13 free trade agreements, which translate into trade relations with 52 countries.

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