Background
Mexico was one of the original NAFTA Chapter 11 respondents and accumulated a meaningful caseload through the 1990s and 2000s. The 2020 transition to USMCA significantly narrowed investor-state arbitration rights for U.S. and Canadian investors, with limited carve-outs preserved for legacy investments and specific sectors.
The energy reform wave
The 2021 Electricity Industry Law restructured priority dispatch and effectively reduced market access for private generators, particularly in renewables. Foreign investors have filed under USMCA legacy provisions and a network of Mexican BITs with Spain, the Netherlands, France, the UK, and Asian counterparties.
Mining reforms
The 2023 mining reform shortened concession periods, expanded environmental restrictions, and gave the state new tools to revoke licences. Mining-sector arbitration filings followed.
See our resource nationalism analysis for global context.
Treaty strategy
Investors have increasingly used multiple-treaty exposure (Dutch and Spanish BITs in particular) to insulate against jurisdictional objections. Treaty-mapping has become central to dispute-origination work in Mexico.
Looking ahead
Mexico is now one of the most active respondents in the Americas. The procedural and jurisdictional questions arising from the USMCA transition will keep shaping doctrine for years.