President López Obrador has repeatedly violated agreements and unlawfully harmed American companies, including Vulcan Materials, which has jeopardized our trading partnership with Mexico and North American commerce
WASHINGTON—United States Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor imploring Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to halt harmful actions against American companies’ lawfully owned assets in Mexico, which violate agreements made between the two countries under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and jeopardize a key U.S. trade relationship.
Specifically, President López Obrador has harassed, interfered with, and obstructed the lawful operations in Mexico of Vulcan Materials Company—a U.S.-based construction-aggregates company with a strong presence in both Tennessee and Virginia—which undermines U.S.-Mexico relations and undermines American companies’ trust regarding investment in Mexico.
“Through increasingly arbitrary and aggressive moves against companies based here in the United States and their lawfully owned assets in Mexico, the Mexican government has abused its permitting and regulatory powers in ways that violate the letter and the spirit of our trade agreements, not to mention the special relationship historically enjoyed between our two countries…For almost two years now, President López Obrador has personally harassed, interfered with, and obstructed Vulcan’s lawful operations in Mexico. Vulcan is a U.S.-based construction-aggregates company, with a strong Tennessee (and Virginia) presence…I’ve been a strong advocate for re-shoring integrated supply chains from Communist China to North America…[and] I again urge President López Obrador to reverse course before more damage is done,” Hagerty said.
“I support the State Department’s efforts to assist and advocate for U.S. businesses in Mexico, including making clear to the Mexican government that their treatment of Vulcan and other companies will undermine U.S. and international confidence in that country. I urge the Mexican government to refrain from moving in this counterproductive direction,” Kaine said.
Video of the Senators’ full remarks can be found here.
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