MEXICO CITY: As the US, Mexico and Canada prepare for another round of negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexico’s economy minister on Tuesday urged the parties to stop fixating on trade deficits between the countries.
The trade disparity between the US and Mexico has been a frequent complaint of President Donald Trump, who has threatened to withdraw from NAFTA if he does not get concessions to reduce a US trade deficit of around $64 billion with Mexico.
But Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo insisted that talks to overhaul the 23-year-old trade accord should not center on trade deficits.
“We cannot continue under these optics that our only measurable objective can be the reduction of commercial deficits,” he said during an interview with local television. “Discussing the theme of the deficit would generate a war of protectionism that would dismantle the advance of the agreement.”
NAFTA is a key pillar of the Mexican economy, with some 80 percent of the country’s exports sent to the US. But Guajardo suggested that the demise of the trade agreement could create complications for the US as well. “In the undesirable but possible scenario that the United States leaves the agreement, the possibility that the deficit with Mexico grows is very high.”
The US, Mexico and Canada will hold a fourth round of negotiations from October 11 to October 15 in Washington, DC.
Mexico economy minister downplays trade deficits ahead of NAFTA talks
Mexico economy minister downplays trade deficits ahead of NAFTA talks
PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition
JEDDAH: Humain, an artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI shortly before the startup was acquired by SpaceX.
As part of xAI’s Series E round, Humain acquired a significant minority stake in the company, which was subsequently converted into shares of SpaceX, according to a press release.
The transaction reflects PIF’s broader push to position Saudi Arabia as a central hub in the global AI ecosystem, as part of its Vision 2030 diversification strategy.
Through Humain, the fund is seeking to combine capital deployment with infrastructure buildout, partnerships with leading technology firms, and domestic capacity development to reduce reliance on oil revenues and expand into advanced industries.
The $3 billion commitment offers potential for long-term capital gains while reinforcing the company’s role as a strategic, scaled investor in transformative technologies.
CEO Tareq Amin said: “This investment reflects Humain’s conviction in transformational AI and our ability to deploy meaningful capital behind exceptional opportunities where long-term vision, technical excellence, and execution converge, xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by its acquisition by SpaceX, one of the largest technology mergers on record, represents the kind of high-impact platform we seek to support with significant capital.”
The deal builds on a large-scale collaboration announced in November at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, where Humain and xAI committed to developing over 500 megawatts of next-generation AI data center and computing infrastructure, alongside deploying xAI’s “Grok” models in the Kingdom.
In a post on his X handle, Amin said: “I’m proud to share that Humain has invested $3 billion into xAI’s Series E round, just prior to its historic acquisition by SpaceX. Through this transaction, Humain became a significant minority shareholder in xAI.”
He added: “The investment builds on our previously announced 500MW AI infrastructure partnership with xAI in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing Humain’s role as both a strategic development partner and a scaled global investor in frontier AI.”
He noted that xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by SpaceX’s acquisition, exemplifies the high-impact platforms Humain aims to support through strategic investments.
Earlier in February, SpaceX completed the acquisition of xAI, reflecting Elon Musk’s strategy to integrate AI with space exploration.
The combined entity, valued at $1.25 trillion, aims to build a vertically integrated innovation ecosystem spanning AI, space launch technology, and satellite internet, as well as direct-to-device communications and real-time information platforms, according to Bloomberg.
Humain, founded in August, consolidates Saudi Arabia’s AI initiatives under a single entity. From the outset, its vision has extended beyond domestic markets, participating across the global AI value chain from infrastructure to applications.
The company represents a strategic initiative by PIF to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce oil dependence by investing in knowledge-based and advanced technologies.
