U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy today released the following statement after the Department and Mexico’s Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) reached consensus on a path forward for Mexico to come into compliance with the 2015 U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Agreement. The understanding follows multiple rounds of bilateral consultations between the two nations.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we put America First and enforce our air transport agreements around the world. By actually holding Mexico accountable, they’ve finally agreed to come into compliance and stop their anti-competitive behavior,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “This is a step in the right direction – but we need to see these promises turn into action. Until then, our restriction on Mexican carriers will remain in place.”
Reminder:
Mexico has not been in compliance with the bilateral agreement since 2022 when it abruptly rescinded U.S. passenger carriers’ slots and then forced U.S. all-cargo carriers to relocate operations. By restricting slots and mandating that all-cargo operations move out of MEX, Mexico broke its promise, disrupted the market, and left American businesses holding the bag for millions in increased costs. In response to this non-compliance, the Department took regulatory action to slash 13 Mexican carrier routes to the U.S., freeze growth of Mexican carrier combination services between the U.S. and Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX), and prohibit Mexican passenger airlines from transporting belly cargo between MEX and the United States.
While the Memorandum of Consultations (MoC) represents a first step, the critical part of the process remains ahead – specifically, Mexico’s implementation of the commitments and reforms established through our consultation process to address DOT’s ongoing concerns. In the MoC, Mexico has committed to, among other things, to conduct a capacity declaration process following international best practice, guarantee that U.S. carriers will have fair and transparent access to request and operate slots at MEX, and amend its slot policies to align them with international best practice.
Mexico must work to operationalize the reforms before DOT would be in a position to reconsider the restrictions it imposed on Mexican carriers.
More information can be found HERE.
