Congress members take aim at Mexico

U.S. Senators including John Cornyn and Ted Cruz sent a letter to President Donald Trump arguing that Mexico’s energy policy undermines the spirit of the USMCA trade agreement.

Six senators and 37 members of Congress signed the letter, whose authenticity was confirmed by Cornyn spokeswoman Natalie Yezbick. The signatories accuse Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of giving preferential treatment to protect state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos and state utility company Comision Federal de Electricidad.

Mexico’s actions “threaten U.S. energy companies’ investment and market access and undermine the spirit of the United States-mexico-canada Agreement (USCMA),” the letter says, adding that the administration is delaying or outright cancelling permits for U.S. energy companies.

The note was signed by mostly Republican lawmakers, but a handful of Democrats joined, including California Representative Jim Costa and New Mexico Representative Xochitl Torres Small.

The rebuke comes at a delicate time for Lopez Obrador. He has tried to keep Mexico out of the crosshairs of the U.S. elections in order to avoid a repeat of 2016. In the previous election, Mexico became a punching bag for Trump.