A new continental trade agreement kicks in on Wednesday, and border industry leaders are ready to take advantage of it.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement increases native content in the auto industry, incorporates rules for e-commerce and pharmaceuticals, opens Mexico's energy sector and updates labor protections in the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. Border cities cashed in on NAFTA as U.S.-run manufacturing plants multiplied, exports increased and logistics and transportation companies seldom lacked work, business leaders said.
He said international trade has been a "Powerful tool" for economic growth, as evidenced by the $108 billion in trade passing through the region's ports of entry last year.
One in four jobs in El Paso is tied to cross-border trade, while 300,000 people across the border in Juarez work in U.S.-run maquiladoras that assemble automotive components, electronics and medical supplies, among others.
"I'm glad this got negotiated because the real challenge was getting through the vitriol leading to a new agreement. We treated Canada and Mexico as if they were enemies rather than good neighbors and partners," said Jerry Pacheco, president and CEO of the New Mexico-based Border Industrial Association.
The governor said his staff would be identifying possible new North American partners and leveraging his border state's experienced labor force to get them to come.
The U.S. government also says it's ready for the new trade treaty.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement increases native content in the auto industry, incorporates rules for e-commerce and pharmaceuticals, opens Mexico's energy sector and updates labor protections in the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. Border cities cashed in on NAFTA as U.S.-run manufacturing plants multiplied, exports increased and logistics and transportation companies seldom lacked work, business leaders said.
He said international trade has been a "Powerful tool" for economic growth, as evidenced by the $108 billion in trade passing through the region's ports of entry last year.
One in four jobs in El Paso is tied to cross-border trade, while 300,000 people across the border in Juarez work in U.S.-run maquiladoras that assemble automotive components, electronics and medical supplies, among others.
"I'm glad this got negotiated because the real challenge was getting through the vitriol leading to a new agreement. We treated Canada and Mexico as if they were enemies rather than good neighbors and partners," said Jerry Pacheco, president and CEO of the New Mexico-based Border Industrial Association.
The governor said his staff would be identifying possible new North American partners and leveraging his border state's experienced labor force to get them to come.
The U.S. government also says it's ready for the new trade treaty.
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