British consumer goods giant Unilever said Friday that it would invest $1.5 billion in Mexico, which is wooing foreign companies in the face of US President Donald Trump’s trade war.
“This investment will create 1,200 new direct and indirect jobs in Mexico,” Unilever’s chief supply chain and operations officer Willem Uijen said at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s daily news conference.
The announcement follows other major investment pledges by company executives invited to appear on stage with Sheinbaum at the presidential palace.
“It means they see a positive and promising future for Mexico,” Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said.
In March, US retail giant Walmart said that it would invest more than $6 billion in Mexico this year, generating several thousand jobs.
E-commerce behemoth Amazon, its regional rival Mercado Libre, streaming giant Netflix and Spain’s biggest bank Santander are among the other foreign firms that have announced major investments.
Trump has announced various tariffs targeting the Latin American nation, and backtracked on some of them.
While he left Mexico off the list of nations facing his steep “reciprocal tariffs,” its carmakers as well as steel and aluminum exporters still face duties.
Trump wants to reduce trade deficits with Mexico and other countries which his administration accuses of “unfair” trade practices.
Sheinbaum spoke with Trump by phone on Thursday and said she had agreed to work toward improving the trade balance between the two nations.
