Amazon rival Mercado Libre to invest 3.4 billion dollars in Mexico

Mercado Libre, a Latin American rival of Amazon, announced Friday a 3.4 billion dollars investment in Mexico, the latest in a series of pledges by foreign firms in spite of US tariff threats.

"It means that despite these tariff issues, they're going to continue their investment in Mexico," economy minister Marcelo Ebrard said after the Argentine company announced its plan at President Claudia Sheinbaum's morning news conference.

"We will continue moving forward. There is trust, respect, they will continue investing in Mexico," he added.

The group's country manager David Geisen said it was "the largest annual investment in the history of Mercado Libre in Mexico."

He said that more than 10,000 new workers would join the company in the North American country this year.

The announcement came a day after US President Donald Trump agreed to suspend tariffs on most Mexican goods until April 2 after a call with Sheinbaum.

Her government has touted a series of announced investments by foreign companies as a sign of bright prospects for Latin America's second-largest economy, despite the tariff uncertainty.

Last week, US home improvement giant Home Depot announced a 1.3 billion dollars investment over several years.

It followed a 1 billion dollars spending pledge by streaming giant Netflix to produce films and series in Mexico, as well as planned investments totaling more than 2 billion dollars by Spain's biggest bank, Santander.(AFP)