Mexican official says government is prepared for results of U.S. elections

One day before we find out who the next president of the United States will be, Mexico's Minister of Economy, Idelfonso Guajardo, assured his country at a senate speech that Mexico's federal government has prepared itself for whatever the outcome of the elections may be and is ready to redefine its strategy for its relationship with its biggest trade partner.

“Our country's government has contemplated the possible scenarios, and each scenario implies strategic action that needs to be taken concerning our relationship with the U.S.,” said Guajardo to members of Mexico's congress.

During public senate hearings regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Guajardo said that Mexico's relationship with the U.S. is so important that the country must be ready to reconnect and redefine its strategy the day after elections.

Guajardo also said that Mexico has signed the TPP so as to not lag behind other countries and not miss out on the benefits of the trade agreement between 12 of the region's biggest economies.

He said that putting the treaty into effect is a priority for the Obama administration before he leaves office early next year. However, he did say that it's not certain whether the U.S. congress will actually vote on the treaty before January 20, 2017.

According to Guajardo, six economies, among them Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan, will push for all countries to pass the treaty before the year end.

“We need to make it clear that this instrument must move forward. For us, whether the United States is part of the trade agreement is not really relevant since we already have NAFTA. However, Chile, Peru and Mexico, which are all part of the TPP, need to be ready to propose an alternative platform for our integration with Asia.”