French aerospace firm Safran to build new plant in Mexico’s Chihuahua state

The head of Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry (SRE) Marcelo Ebrard informed on his Twitter account that the French aerospace firm Safran will build a factory in the northern state of Chihuahua to manufacture the interiors of Boeing passenger airplanes.

The Foreign Affairs Minister stressed that thanks to this factory, there will be 800 new jobs in the region.

Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón mentioned that the notification of this investment took place on July 1 when the new trade agreement between Mexico, the U.S., and Canada entered into force.

“I share with you that we received a notification on July 1, the day the USMCA trade deal entered into force, saying French firm Safran will begin the construction of a factory in Chihuahua to manufacture the interiors of the Boeing passenger airplanes and that will give work to over 800 people!” posted the minister in his Twitter account on July 11.

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New trade agreement between Mexico, the U.S., and Canada

Last week, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and U.S. President Donald Trump highlighted the importance of the entry into force of the new trade deal between the United States, Mexico , and Canada (USMCA).

In a joint message at the White House, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that this agreement is an achievement for the three nations and their peoples and that it will help improve production chains in order to recover the economic presence lost by North America.

“The USMCA is the ideal instrument to provide economic certainty and more trust in our countries, which will be fundamental for the recovery that has already begun in our two nations. The USMCA reaffirms our shared understanding that North America is a region that creates prosperity for all its citizens.”

As of the entry into force of the USMCA, on April 24, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer notified the U.S. Congress that “Canada and Mexico had taken measures necessary to comply with their commitments under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), and that the Agreement will enter into force on July 1, 2020.”

The deal, which replaces the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), binds nearly half a billion consumers in a single market.

The enforcement of the agreement "marks the beginning of a historic new chapter for North American trade," the USTR said.

The USMCA was created when President Donald Trump forced Canada and Mexico to renegotiate the trade deal, threatening to scrap NAFTA outright unless it was revamped.

Trump had long targeted NAFTA, which he said had resulted in sending US jobs abroad.

At the end of marathon talks, the three parties signed the initial version of the deal in November 2018.

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Mexico

ratified it in December 2019, Trump signed it into law in January 2020, and Canada's parliament adopted it in March.

The USMCA changes rules on auto manufacturing to boost US jobs and requires higher salaries for some Mexican auto workers. It also makes changes to e-commerce, intellectual property protections, and dispute settlement for investors, as well as imposing tougher labor provisions, requiring reforms to Mexico's laws.

USTR said the deal would "deliver more jobs, provide stronger labor protections and expand market access, creating new opportunities for American workers, farmers, and ranchers."

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who led Trump's negotiating team, said: "The crisis and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate that now, more than ever, the United States should strive to increase manufacturing capacity and investment in North America."

He called the entry into force of the trade deal a "landmark achievement in that effort."

Christopher Landau, the U.S. ambassador in Mexico , said it’s time for the three nations to work together.

Jesús Seade, the Deputy Secretary for North America, said the trade deal is crucial for the tree countries.

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