Mexico laments cancellation of Ford investment

The Mexican government lamented Tuesday the decision by American carmaker Ford to cancel its plan to build a plant in the state of San Luis Potosi, worth 1.6 billion U.S. dollars.

The carmaker had said it would reimburse "any expenses made by the state government to facilitate this investment," the Ministry of Economy said in a statement.

Ford announced the cancellation of its investment in San Luis Potosi, which would have generated 2,800 jobs. It has decided instead to expand its plant and hire 700 new people in Flat Rock, Michigan, in the United States.

The Mexican government also said the growth of Ford in Mexico and the jobs it had created in the country "had contributed to maintaining manufacturing jobs in the United States, which otherwise would have disappeared due to Asian competition."

"The government reiterates its commitment to make Mexico a more competitive country for national and foreign investment," read the statement.

Ford's reversal came on the same day when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened on Twitter to slap taxes on General Motors (GM) for allegedly importing the Chevrolet Cruze into the United States from Mexico free of taxes.

GM responded by saying most of its Cruze cars are made in Ohio and only a small number of the cars of the hatchback version are imported from Mexico. Endi