U.S. Ambassador, Secretary of Economy, and Secretary of Communications and Transportation Attend First Truck Crossing

U.S. Ambassador, Secretary of Economy, and Secretary of Communications and Transportation Attend First Truck Crossing

Mexico City, October 21, 2011 — U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Anthony Wayne today participated in the first truck crossing as part of the long-haul cross-border trucking program between Mexico and the United States.  Together with Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, Bruno Ferrari, Secretary of Communications and Transportation, Dionisio Pérez Jácome and the governor of the state of Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre Cantú, Ambassador Wayne witnessed the crossing of the first truck at the World Trade Bridge in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.
 
“Seventeen years after it was signed, we must remember how NAFTA has transformed both the U.S. – Mexico economic relationship and the broader North American economy.  Since 1994, more than 40 million jobs in the three countries have been created and annual trade among the three economies has more than tripled to almost one trillion dollars,” Ambassador Wayne said.  ”Increased U.S. – Mexico trade is a win for North American competitiveness, a point that should not be forgotten in an ever-competitive global economy.  In fact, we don’t merely trade with each other, we make things together.”
 
As part of the ceremony the dignitaries praised the long-haul cross-border trucking program, and mentioned they envisioned more Mexican and U.S. companies participating in this program in the near future, thus allowing companies to better optimize their costs.
 
“Mexican trucks crossing the border is the manifestation of a vision of co-responsibility and shared prosperity, a vision that promotes building bridges between our two peoples instead of walls,” noted Secretary Ferrari.
 
Secretary Pérez Jácome commented that, “With this program there is no doubt commercial operational logistic efficiencies along our extensive border will improve and the commercial exchange and productivity between our two countries will increase, as well as the competitiveness of North America in the global context.”
 
The Transportes Olympic truck made the historical crossing at 2:00 p.m., en route to Garland, Texas.