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Working With Mexico: Building America's Future Fact Sheet released by the Office of Mexican Affairs, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, June 10, 1998.

U.S. relations with Mexico are as important as those we have with any other country in the world. A stable, democratic, and prosperous Mexico is fundamental to U.S. national security. How the United States engages this neighbor and international partner now will have a direct effect on the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans in the years to come.

Mexico's importance to the U.S. starts with the 2,000-mile border we share. Some 250 million people legally cross this frontier each year. More than 500,000 Americans currently reside in Mexico, and 2,600 U.S. companies operate there. Sixty percent of foreign direct investment in Mexico comes from the U.S.

Mexico is the United States' third-largest trading partner, after Canada and Japan. Exports to Mexico soared from $12.2 billion in 1986 to a record-setting $71.4 billion last year. American exports have grown by more than 70% since 1993 alone. U.S. trade with Mexico is greater than the combined trade with this country's next two largest trading partners--China and the United Kingdom.

Our close, cooperative relationship with Mexico extends to joint actions on common problems such as drug trafficking, international crime, illegal migration, and environmental degradation.

Economic Partnership for American Prosperity

Mexico is an important trading partner and significant contributor to American prosperity.

• Mexico buys three-quarters of its imports from the United States.
• Eight states--Arizona, California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas--each individually export more than $1 billion worth of goods and services to Mexico each year.
• In 1997, the United States' $71.4 billion in exports to Mexico exceeded its exports to Japan, even though the Mexican economy is only one-seventh the size of its Japanese counterpart.
• As Mexico's economy continues to expand, the prospects for continued U.S. export growth are excellent.

By joining with Mexico and Canada in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993, the United States ensured that American businesses would receive increasingly favorable treatment in this critical market. Under NAFTA, Mexican tariffs on U.S. goods will be reduced to zero, giving American products a valuable competitive edge.

During Mexico's earlier economic crisis in 1982, its government raised tariffs on all foreign products to more than 100%. Yet in the 1995 recession, Mexico continued to lower the rates charged on U.S. goods as required under NAFTA, even as it raised them on other, non-NAFTA countries' products.

In recognition of Mexico's importance to the U.S., President Clinton led the creation of a multilateral lending package in response to the 1995 peso crisis. Mexico's strong recovery and rapid return to international capital markets in 1996 strongly validated this action. Mexico's improved economic situation allowed it to repay all $13.5 billion in U.S. loans, along with $580 million in interest, 3 years ahead of schedule.

2,000 Miles of Cooperation

From San Diego to Brownsville, the border with Mexico is a defining physical reality of the U.S.-Mexico relationship. While the border provides great opportunities to enhance trade and communications, it also presents a number of important challenges.

Drug trafficking, migration, and environmental degradation are all issues that neither the U.S. nor Mexico can address alone. Progress on these issues demands that the U.S. seek ways to expand its already close cooperation with Mexico.

Drugs. The U.S. is the world's-largest consumer of illegal drugs, and Mexico is the country through which the majority of these drugs pass en route to U.S. markets. Enhancing U.S. cooperation with Mexico is therefore essential to control the flow of illegal narcotics, and clearly in our national interest.

President Zedillo has declared drug trafficking to be the greatest national security threat facing Mexico today. In the past year, Mexico has achieved some important successes against the narcotics trade.

• Mexico seized 34.9 metric tons of cocaine in 1997, up 30% from 23.6 tons seized in 1996.
• Opium gum seizures rose nearly 60%, from 200 kgs. in 1996 to 340 kgs. in 1997.
• A number of key narcotics traffickers were sentenced to long prison terms, 40 years in one case.
• Mexico moved strongly against drug corruption, including the indictment of more than 100 members of the Federal Judicial Police and more than 20 federal prosecutors.

President Clinton's decision to certify Mexico as fully cooperating with U.S. counternarcotics efforts was based on these and other facts. His decision was the right one for the U.S. and the best way to achieve maximum success against the flow of drugs into our country.

The U.S. is now expanding counternarcotics cooperation with Mexico. One major tool for coordinating these efforts is the High Level Contact Group on Drug Control established in 1996. Chaired for the U.S. by National Drug Control Policy Director Barry McCaffrey, this senior level commission provides a forum in which officials in the U.S. and Mexican law enforcement communities are able to deal directly with one another on major narcotics issues.

Migration and Travel. Mexico is the single most important source of migration--both legal and illegal--to the U.S.

Each year, over 111,000 Mexican immigrants legally come to reside permanently in the U.S. Almost 15 million members of the U.S. population trace their ancestry to Mexico; 6.7 million of them were born in Mexico. They constitute 28% of our foreign-born population.

These U.S. citizens and permanent residents are joined by millions of legal short-term visitors who come to the U.S. for business, educational opportunities, or tourism. More than 9.5 million Mexicans visit the U.S. each year--25% of all legal foreign visitors. On average these temporary visitors spend $1,500 per person while in the United States. The U.S. welcomes these legal visitors and immigrants who over the years have contributed greatly to American society, culture, and economic development.

However, Mexico is also the single greatest source of illegal migration to the U.S. Mexican illegal migrants make up roughly half of the total of 5 million illegal residents estimated to be in the United States today.

Both the U.S. and Mexico recognize the need to preserve the integrity of our common border, and recognize the dangers posed to individuals attempting to make illegal crossings. The Binational Commission (BNC) Working Group on Migration and Consular Affairs consults regularly on ways to better manage these issues.

Mexican law enforcement officials are actively working with their U.S. counterparts to break up criminal alien smuggling rings. Mexico has also taken steps to curb the use of its territory by people from third countries as a staging area for attempts to illegally enter the U.S. Mexico deports more than 120,000 such third-country nationals each year.

Environment and Natural Resources. Pollution does not respect international boundaries. That is why the U.S. and Mexico work together to manage better air, water, and other natural resources that directly affect the health and quality of life of millions of people in the border region.

Currently the United States and Mexico are:

• Working through the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) to improve sanitation, flood control, and water conservation systems and meet the needs of a growing regional population. Sewage and wastewater treatment plants are being built or expanded to serve the Tijuana, Nogales, and Nuevo Laredo areas.
• Addressing a wide range of environmental, natural resource, and environmental health issues through the Binational Border XXI Planning Program.
• Identifying and financing border clean-up and infrastructure projects through the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) and the North American Development Bank (NADBANK).
• Working together to combat the problem of forest fires in Mexico, which produce smoke causing air pollution in the U.S.

Supporting Mexico's Internal Reforms

Since the late 1980s, Mexico has undergone a series of difficult structural economic reforms. The government of President Zedillo sustained a sensible macroeconomic course despite strong pressures to change policies during Mexico's recession. At the same time, Mexico also is undergoing a profound political transformation as significant and far-reaching as its economic restructuring.

In 1996, the Mexican Congress passed substantial electoral system reforms which provide for more open and fair political competition. Boosted by these reforms, Mexico's political system is becoming more pluralistic at all levels, with an increasing proportion of the population being governed by opposition parties at state or local levels. Mid-term congressional elections in July 1997 were judged free and fair by Mexican and international observers.

The U.S. supports Mexico's efforts to strengthen democracy and advance economic development. The U.S. will continue to support these efforts and offer appropriate assistance if requested. The process of economic and political reform in Mexico can only strengthen bilateral ties and improve cooperation.

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