Biden, Trudeau and AMLO Agree to Meeting on Semiconductor Investment

(Bloomberg) -- The US, Canada and Mexico aim to coordinate investment in semiconductor manufacturing and re-commit to targeted greenhouse gas reduction, the White House announced Tuesday.  

The agreements stem from a trilateral meeting of US President Joe Biden, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Mexico City. 

The three countries are establishing a forum with industry representatives to support the growth of the semiconductor sector, according to a White House memo. The nations are also committing to reduce methane emissions by at least 15% by 2030, specifically from the waste sector.

The announcement of deliverables from the North American Leaders’ Summit comes after Congress last year passed legislation to provide more than $50 billion in incentives to build facilities and produce microchips in an attempt to compete with Asia, which has dominated the industry.

A senior Mexican Foreign Ministry official said last week that López Obrador would ask Biden in Mexico City for support attracting semiconductor investment. 

López Obrador’s administration wants the US to jointly approach companies that are looking to relocate to North America with the suggestion that a new factory built in a state like Arizona could by supplied with some parts and processes developed in Mexico, the person said.

Mexico also wants US help to secure funding from development banks for an ambitious plan to build several state-owned solar parks in border state Sonora, said the official, who asked not to be identified while discussing plans that aren’t public. Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, will also look to discuss selling Mexican clean energy north of the border, especially in California, the person said.

Read more: AMLO to Ask Biden for Energy, Semiconductor Support at Summit

Biden, López Obrador and Trudeau meet formally later Tuesday. Discussions are expected to center on migration, trade and security.

--With assistance from and .

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