Let Mexico keep buying American gas

The U.S. energy revolution has passed a milestone, if new data is correct. By the end of August, federal projections indicate, America will become a net exporter of natural gas, and remain so well into the future.

In every month of 2018, American natural gas producers will post a large and growing export surplus. As LNG terminals are built, the nation's capacity to export liquefied natural gas is expected to triple by 2019, to more than 9 billion cubic feet a day.

But the biggest game in gas exports is much closer to home, in the form of exports to Mexico by pipeline. As the Washington Examiner reported Monday, more than half of Mexican energy imports and nearly 60 percent of its natural gas imports now come from the U.S., up from 22 percent in 2010.

This May, Mexico bought 129 billion cubic feet of American gas, more than four times what it purchased in May 2014. With Mexico's economy growing and its demand for natural gas skyrocketing, this trade is sure to get much bigger and become a source of great wealth and many well-paid jobs in the U.S. That's without even mentioning the growing oil and other petroleum products we're now exporting to Mexico as well.

This is all good news, but there's a catch, or at least the threat of one. On Wednesday, President Trump officially ran out the 30-day waiting period after which he can begin his long-promised renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump has famously disparaged that pact as one of the worst trade deals in history, claiming that it gives Mexico a massive advantage at Americans' expense.