Mexico City, May 15 (EFE).- The Ministry of Economy (SE) of the Government of Mexico urgently requested this Monday the government of the state of Texas (United States) to withdraw inspections of cargo transportation, since, it pointed out , generate millions in losses for Mexico and the US.
In the coming days, the Government of Mexico, he said, will submit the case to the Trade Facilitation Committee of the T-MEC (Mexico, the United States and Canada).
In a statement issued, the Mexican agency expressed “its serious concerns about the economic losses caused by the recent inspections of cargo transportation” in the vicinity of the Matamoros-Brownsville border crossing by the Texas government.
He recalled that these measures, applied since May 8, claim to have the objective of “interrupting migrant smuggling at the border,” an attribution that does not correspond to subnational governments such as the state of Texas.
“These actions are motivated by an anti-Mexican vision that is far from the social, cultural and economic integration between Mexico and Texas,” said the SE in the note.
He recalled that Mexico is the main trading partner of the state of Texas “and that this relationship represents an average of 231,000 million dollars a year.”
Economy of Mexico also pointed out that in the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), the three countries have developed supply chains in strategic sectors such as the automotive, electronics and hydrocarbon sectors.
That is why he pointed out that contrary to these mutual benefits, “the imposition of these inspections is generating millions in losses for both Mexican and American companies.”
He also said that the inspections “are causing delays of between 8 and 27 hours in the entry of national cargo transports to Texas, which mainly affects perishable products.”
The Mexican agency said that ultimately “it is American consumers who pay the costs of these policies,” so it is in everyone’s interest to restore normalcy at the border.
Due to the above, the Ministry of Economy indicated that it has initiated a constructive dialogue with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to find a solution to a problem that, it recognized, “is caused by a subnational authority.”
He pointed out that on May 12, a teleconference was held between the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, Alejandro Encinas Nájera, and the Deputy Trade Representative of the United States, Jayme White, and in it, the Mexican agency expressed its concern and emphasized that these obstacles to trade “They are incompatible with the existing market access agreements between Mexico and the United States.”
A month ago, the White House lashed out at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, for having ordered an increase in truck inspections on the border with Mexico.
Those inspections are causing traffic delays and “significant disruptions” to the food and auto supply chains, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
Specifically, Abbott ordered state authorities to stop and inspect all tractor-trailers and buses that cross from Mexico to the United States, arguing immigration control and border security measures to prevent the illegal movement of migrants and drugs.
