[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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