U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Mexican counterpart, Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray, met in Washington in early May to discuss bilateral and regional issues, including the modernization of the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.
“In particular, we spoke of four vital areas in which we work with Mexico every day: trade; management of our shared border; security; and the shared regional and global priorities of our two countries,” said Secretary of State Pompeo.
First is the fact that the economic interests of the two countries are deeply intertwined.“Mexico is our second largest export market, third largest trading partner. The importance of modernizing NAFTA cannot be overstated, and we will continue to work towards an agreement with Mexico and with Canada.”
Every day, more than 1.7 billion dollars in trade crosses our nearly 2,000 mile [3,110 Km.] common border, supporting thousands of jobs in both countries. And that leads into the second point: As we manage this border together, we seek to improve efficiency at our ports of entry to support the legitimate flow of commerce between our two countries.
Third, the United States and Mexico work together to improve security and disrupt the operations of transnational criminal organizations. “Our security is linked to one another’s,” said Secretary of State Pompeo:
“It will take our shared resources and commitment to disrupt criminal groups that illegally traffic drugs, weapons, and human beings. Continued cooperation under the Merida Initiative advances our mutual security objectives. We’ve made some progress through the U.S.-Mexico Strategic Dialogue to disrupt these transnational criminal organizations. We should be proud of that.”
And finally, the U.S. and Mexico work together on regional and global challenges. “For example, we are working with our partners in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador to reduce insecurity and violence, enhance economic opportunity, and fight corruption. These shared efforts address the underlying conditions driving illegal immigration. We also cooperate with Mexico to build regional consensus on the crisis in Venezuela,” said Secretary of State Pompeo.
“Mexico is one of the United States’ closest partners. Together we are working to build a more secure, prosperous, and democratic hemisphere. We are neighbors, allies, and friends.”
