MEXICO CITY, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will probably encourage the flow of investment, Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said Wednesday.
After the inauguration of the 2019-2020 Regulatory Improvement Programs, the official acknowledged that the lag in investment could be one of the causes of the local economy slowdown.
"First we were in the USMCA negotiations and now we are in the process of ratification by our two partners. Once the uncertainty is dissolved, it will encourage new investments," Marquez said to the press.
In 2018, public investment occupied 3 percent of the Mexican gross domestic product (GDP), while private investment accounted for 20 percent, according to the official.
"Where could the biggest backlog be? Well, surely for the economy to slow down, it would have to be on the private investment side," she added.
The Mexican Senate recently ratified the USMCA, making Mexico the first country to do so. The free trade agreement still requires to be ratified by the American and Canadian Congresses to go into effect.
Mexico, the second largest economy in Latin America after Brazil, depends to a large extent on economic cycles in the United States.
