The Ministry of Economy (SE) awarded two contracts for up to 3.9 million dollars, one 66.3 million pesos, for legal advice on international trade in the United States and Canada during this year.
The first contract, for up to two million dollars, about 34 million pesos, was assigned to the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, in order to address the agency’s legal matters before international courts.
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The second contract, for a maximum of 1.9 million dollars, about 32.3 million pesos, was assigned to the firm Tereposky & DeRose LLP, to provide said service in Canadian territory.
These firms had already been hired so far in the current administration, totaling contracts for 8.1 million dollars together, according to data from the Compranet portal.
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The federal agency recalled that Mexico is the tenth most active country in dispute settlement within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the sixth most sued country in investor-state litigation.
Just in December, the SE managed to temporarily suspend the international arbitration requests that the firms Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and CDP Groupe Infrastructures Inc. made against Mexico regarding renewable energy.
The SE is the agency in charge of defending the country in commercial conflicts in international instances.
In this sense, he indicated that legal advisory services on foreign trade in the United States and Canada are necessary for optimal legal defense in the various litigations that the country faces, through the continuation of legal advice and strategies in active cases, as well as the new cases that arise throughout this year.
The agency’s website indicates 14 notices of intention to sue companies against the country, in addition there are 17 active cases, as well as six lawsuits before the WTO and three dispute settlement procedures within the framework of the T-MEC, such as cases of transgenic corn and the energy policies of the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
In addition to this, Mexico still faces 15 claims within the framework of the defunct North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), for a total of nine thousand 705 million dollars.
These are the first contracts that the agency headed by Raquel Buenrostro publishes in the federal government’s electronic purchasing system.
However, as this newspaper previously published, the SE has also hired the services of experts in games and raffles, lawyers specialized in environmental and labor matters, as well as experts in rule of law and constitutional law.
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In 2022 alone, the agency allocated just over 96.7 million pesos to hire external advisors in international disputes, according to official information from Compranet. In addition to those mentioned, some of the law firms hired are Bufete Asali, Lazcano Sámano, Rion M&A, K&G Abogados, Díaz Mirón y Asociados, among others.
2024-01-15 11:00:29
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