Press Release

Secretary Gutierrez to Discuss Improving North American Trade and Security During Visit to Mexico

WASHINGTON—Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez will travel to Mexico this week to speak at the U.S.-Mexico: Building Partnership in Infrastructure Conference, hosted by the U.S. Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency in Mexico City. He will also meet with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts at the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) Ministerial in San Jose del Cabo Feb. 27-28.

In Mexico City, Gutierrez will promote U.S.-Mexico business partnerships and identify infrastructure opportunities within President Felipe Calderon’s National Infrastructure Program (NIP) for U.S. businesses. The conference will highlight priority projects from Mexico’s 2007-2012 NIP to expand commercial ties and business opportunities with the goal of enhancing Mexico’s infrastructure.

“As Mexico invests in its infrastructure, U.S. firms can play a critical role to improve delivery of transportation networks, information technologies and environmental services,” Gutierrez said. Mexico's National Infrastructure Program will present more than $250 billion in business opportunities for U.S. and Mexican firms through 2012 while laying the foundation for North America to be more competitive in the global economy.”

Gutierrez will meet with President Calderon and members of his cabinet to promote trade and investment and discuss issues affecting our bilateral relationship, including transportation, regulations and intellectual property protections. After the conference, Gutierrez will join ministers from the United States, Canada and Mexico in San Jose del Cabo to ensure continued momentum in the SPP process and lay the Security and Prosperity groundwork for the April Leaders’ Summit in New Orleans.

“The United States, Canada and Mexico are sovereign nations that share values as friends, allies and commercial trading partners,” Gutierrez said. “More than $ 2.5 billion worth of goods cross our 5,000 mile border with Canada and our 2,000 mile border with Mexico every day. Cooperation with our neighbors through SPP is cutting wait times at those borders while advancing initiatives that increase our competitiveness, enhance our security, and protect our environment and food supply.”

• Since NAFTA, the U.S. economy has grown 54 percent.
• When NAFTA was implemented in 1994, it created the world’s largest free trade area, which now links 439 million people in an area that produces $15.3 trillion worth of goods and services.
• U.S. merchandise exports to Mexico have grown 228 percent, $41.6 billion in 1993 to $136.5 billion in 2007. Total trade among the NAFTA partners more than doubled in the first 13 years of NAFTA
• Combined trade is $2.5 billion a day among NAFTA partners, $1.7 million per minute.

For additional information on the Infrastructure Conference visit:https://www.buyusa.gov/mexico/en/infrastructure_webinar.html.

Fr additional information on the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, visit http://www.spp.gov.