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Trade Advocates Call For More Investment At Ports Of Entry
Business leaders and political representatives from the United States-Mexico border gathered in El Paso Wednesday to discuss future investment in America's southern ports of entry.
The University of Texas at El Paso hosts an annual border-focused conference together with the local congressman. In the past, under former U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, the conferences focused mainly on border security. This year, under newly elected Rep. Beto O'Rourke, the focus was on U.S.-Mexico trade.
Trade between the U.S. and Mexico quintupled in the last decade to $500 billion a year.
Mexican Ambassador to the United States, Eduardo Medina Mora, said 6 million U.S. jobs depend on trade with Mexico.
"When a car is assembled in Hermosillo or Tennessee it really embodies lots of jobs on both sides of the border," he said.
Medina Mora lamented that despite advances in trade between the two nations, the infrastructure at the ports of entry is outdated.
The city of El Paso is currently in negotiations with Customs and Border Protection to finance overtime and additional officers at the ports of entry. It is part of a pilot program with the federal government that includes airports, business associations and local governments in Texas, California and Florida. The goal of these partnerships is to speed up cross-border travel.