La Jornada – American companies seek arbitration against Mexico to change the hydrocarbon law

Three US companies in the energy sector have filed an investment arbitration request against Mexico before the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which is derived from the reform of the hydrocarbon law.

Finley Resources Inc. And MWS Management Inc. Prize Permanent Holdings LLC will file the lawsuit with ICSID, which belongs to the World Bank (WB), on May 12.

The companies claim that the country has not complied with the obligations obtained in the Treaty of Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), and therefore they will rely on the trade agreement to defend their interests.

Finley Resources operates oil and gas facilities; MWS provides services in the crude oil fields, and Prize Permanent Holding is dedicated to adding energy production features.

This will be the first energy dispute in which the investment defense mechanisms established in T-MEC will be used.

According to ICSID data, Thompson & Knight Law Firm, incorporated in Dallas, Texas, will be responsible for the case and the Department of Economics (SE) International Trade Legal Advisors General Directorate will have to respond.

The lawsuit comes a week after the American Petroleum Institute (API) sent a letter to President Joe Biden’s government to intervene in the face of what it considers obstacles arising from the recent amendments passed by Congress that went into effect on May 5. the last.

The request for arbitration isn’t the only complaint that has surfaced these days, as biotech companies have also raised their hands.