Mexico’s Pemex looks to diversify market amid Trump tariff threats

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican state energy company Pemex is actively looking to diversify its market for both motor fuel imports and crude oil exports, the head of its international trading unit PMI said on Tuesday.

“If new opportunities in other markets open, we’ll pursue them and are pursuing them,” PMI Chief Executive Officer Margarita Perez said during a panel discussion in the Mexican Senate.

Perez’s comments come after Reuters reported this month that Pemex was in talks with potential buyers in Europe and Asia, including China.

Perez said that the importance of having a diversification strategy was highlighted when U.S. President Donald Trump a day earlier threatened tariffs on countries buying oil from Venezuela.

Trump on Monday published an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on trade with countries buying the South American nation’s oil.

“Not having certainty in the market creates a lot of volatility,” Perez said.