U.S.-Mexico council to focus on energy trade

The U.S. Commerce and Energy departments have started an industry advisory group, along with their counterparts in Mexico, to make recommendations to strengthen cross-border trade and investment in the energy sector.    The U.S. Commerce and Energy departments have started an industry advisory group, along with their counterparts in Mexico, to make recommendations to strengthen cross-border trade and investment in the energy sector.
   The U.S.-Mexico Energy Business Council consists of 10 executives from the private sector, who will serve two-year terms, and include the Commerce undersecretary for international trade and Energy’s assistant secretary for international affairs on the U.S. side, and the Economy Secretariat’s undersecretary of foreign trade and the Energy Secretariat’s director general of investor relations and promotion on the Mexican side.
   “This is the first time we have had a group from our respective private sectors, convened by the two governments, come together to discuss energy issues of mutual interest,” said current Commerce acting undersecretary Ken Hyatt in a statement. “The growing importance of energy to economic competitiveness in North America and changes in Mexican energy policy led to the creation of this council.”
   The 10 private sector executives come from Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, the Petroleum Equipment and Services Association, Honeywell Mexico, Suniva, Hunt Consolidated Energy, IEnova, Westinghouse, Halliburton, Emerson Process Management and GE Energy.
   The council’s initial meeting is expected to be held this fall.