At Trump-AMLO White House dinner, Mnuchin endorsed Mexican government's economic plan but demanded legal certainty

Before Wednesday's dinner at the White House, where Donald Trump hosted Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his delegation, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had the opportunity to speak with some members of the delegation of business leaders who accompanied the Mexican president on his trip to Washington.

According to sources within the Mexican government, the official was optimistic about the development of the USMCA and even praised the "fundamentals" of the Mexican macroeconomy in times of the pandemic. Mnuchin highlighted the healthy level of dollar reserves in the Mexican central bank, the exchange rate without major alterations and a controlled inflation.

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Mnuchin believes these figures can compensate for the drop in oil revenues that has deepened in recent years.

Mnuchin projects that the third quarter in the U.S. will show a rebound effect in economic performance that will end up favoring Mexico.

A member of the Mexican delegation asked if Trump would launch infrastructure projects to accelerate economic recovery. He replied that he would not because the projects, he explained, would not impact the working class before the end of the year.

The only instance of criticism, according to comments in AMLO's inner circle, was when Mnuchin warned that it was important to honor contracts, in a clear reference to the case of the gas pipelines in 2019, when López Obrador canceled a series of contracts with U.S. companies that had been agreed upon in his predecessor's administration, or the recent cancellation of the Constellation Brands brewery this year, another deal that occurred before López Obrador took office.