    [Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 10, 2018)]
    [Senate]
    [Page S141]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                             SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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    SENATE RESOLUTION 371--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE VALUE
       OF THE BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO

      Mr. FLAKE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
    the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                                  S. Res. 371

           Whereas the United States and Mexico share a nearly 2,000-
         mile long border that spans 4 States of the United States and
         6 Mexican states;
           Whereas for more than a century the United States and
         Mexico have maintained and fostered diplomatic ties that in
         2017 allow for close cooperation and collaboration on efforts
         to strengthen security measures along the border, combat drug
         trafficking and illegal immigration, and facilitate cross-
         border trade;
           Whereas the United States and Mexico have enjoyed economic
         ties for more than a century that culminated with the
         implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in
         1994, which opened the Mexican market to the United States
         and Canada, creating the largest single free trade area in
         the world;
           Whereas before the North American Free Trade Agreement was
         in effect, in 1993, United States trade in goods with Mexico
         was worth approximately $82,000,000,000, and in 2016, United
         States trade in goods with Mexico was worth approximately
         $525,000,000,000;
           Whereas the United States has invested approximately
         $1,800,000,000 in the Merida Initiative, which focuses on the
         disruption of organized criminal groups, institutionalizing
         the rule of law, creating a 21st-century border, and building
         resilient communities;
           Whereas cooperation between the United States and Mexico to
         fight drug trafficking and organized crime has grown
         significantly since the implementation of the Merida
         Initiative and security cooperation has intensified since
         2008 as trade between the United States and Mexico has
         boomed;
           Whereas the United States intelligence community has worked
         effectively with its counterparts in Mexico to assist in the
         arrest of top criminals and drug traffickers, notably Joaquin
         ``El Chapo'' Guzman who was extradited to the United States
         by Mexico in 2017;
           Whereas Mexico has assisted the United States in
         extraditing criminals and fugitives of United States law
         captured in Mexico and such cooperation has increased
         substantially, with 12 extraditions in 2000 and 79 in 2016;
           Whereas Mexico has been an important partner in stanching
         the flow of illegal migrants from Central America bound for
         the United States, by deporting hundreds of thousands from
         Mexico before they reach the United States border;
           Whereas Mexico is second to only Canada in energy trade
         with the United States, provides crude oil to the United
         States, and imports rapidly growing volumes of both petroleum
         products and natural gas from the United States;
           Whereas recent changes to Mexico's Constitution allow for
         further cooperation between the United States and Mexico to
         develop North American energy resources to the benefit of
         both countries;
           Whereas, in 2015, the largest share of business and tourist
         travelers to the United States were from Mexico;
           Whereas the number of United States citizens living in
         Mexico has steadily increased and exceeded 1,000,000 in 2017,
         making United States citizens in Mexico the world's largest
         United States expatriate community;
           Whereas Mexico is an active participant in international
         affairs through its membership in the United Nations and the
         Organization of American States, and hosted the G-20 Leaders'
         Summit in 2012;
           Whereas the United States and Mexico maintain a robust
         education exchange program called the United States-Mexico
         Bilateral Forum on Higher Education, Innovation, and Research
         that strengthens student mobility between the United States
         and Mexico, aiming to send 100,000 Mexican students to the
         United States and 50,000 United States students to Mexico by
         2018;
           Whereas the Mexico-United States Entrepreneurship and
         Innovation Council is a bilateral initiative comprised of
         public and private sector representatives designing new
         initiatives alongside public policies to enhance regional
         competitiveness that strengthens the high-impact
         entrepreneurship system in North America;
           Whereas the North American Free Trade Agreement was
         negotiated 25 years before the date of agreement to this
         resolution, prior to the advancement of new technologies and
         economies, such as the E-commerce sector, that are not
         addressed in the Agreement's chapters; and
           Whereas approximately 80 percent of Mexico's exports go to
         the United States and 47 percent of Mexico's imports come
         from the United States, making the United States Mexico's
         most significant trading partner: Now, therefore, be it
           Resolved, That the Senate--
           (1) values the bilateral relationship between the United
         States and Mexico and the many benefits derived from
         cooperation on security, combatting transnational crime,
         energy, economic engagement, and cultural engagement;
           (2) recognizes that implementation of the North American
         Free Trade Agreement in 1994, and the resulting increase in
         trade, has provided a platform on which cooperation with
         Mexico on so many levels has been possible;
           (3) recognizes that Mexico is an essential partner for the
         United States in regional security and encourages the
         President to continue to strengthen ties between the United
         States and Mexico to help advance United States regional
         interests;
           (4) understands that the relationship between the United
         States and Mexico is strengthened by interaction between
         people from the United States and Mexico and economic
         interaction;
           (5) encourages United States drug enforcement agencies to
         continue developing strong cooperative measures with Mexico
         since efforts to stem the drug trade into the United States
         depend on Mexico's cooperation because, among other matters,
         more than 90 percent of heroin in the United States comes
         from Mexico;
           (6) stresses the importance of the North American Free
         Trade Agreement to the United States economy and to the
         bilateral relationship between the United States and Mexico;
         and
           (7) encourages the President to work toward modernization
         of the North American Free Trade Agreement in a way that
         strengthens the Agreement so that it can continue to provide
         benefits to the peoples of the United States and Mexico and
         the important bilateral relationship between the United
         States and Mexico.

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