Van Schoik and Lee discuss report on U.S.-Mexico trade

Submitted by admin on December 7, 2011 - 9:42am
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On Friday December 9, 2011 the North American Center for Transborder Studies (NACTS) and the New Policy Institute (NPI) released the report “Realizing the Full Value of Crossborder Trade with Mexico.”

The report was presented through a live webcast hosted by NACTS and NPI. The webcast was moderated by NPI’s Kristian Ramos, while the discussion was primarily conducted by Simon Rosenberg, President of NPI as well as by the report’s co-authors Rick Van Schoik and Erik Lee, Director and Associate Director of NACTS respectively. The panelists presented relevant and compelling information on historical and current trading trends with Mexico, in addition to some of the untapped opportunities in the U.S.-Mexico robust commercial relationship. 
 
Van Schoik commented on the importance to build upon our partnership with Mexico by stating that “Mexico’s economy grew 2-3 times faster than ours, so hitching our success to a section of their future just makes sense.”
 
Additionally, Lee believes that unfortunately “trade with Mexico is economic value that for too many of us is hidden in plain sight” and commented on the need for a national conversation on how to take full advantage of the economic opportunities of trading with Mexico.
 
Finally, Simon Rosenberg concluded the panelists’ presentation on the report by emphasizing “the border is really open for business, despite all the perception of violence trade has continued to increase.”
 
The live webcast concluded with a Q & A session, which gave the participants an opportunity to take part on the discussion, as well as recognize NACTS for its work on an issue that few people outside of the U.S. - Mexico border region comprehends. 

The paper is available on NACTS' website, and the webcase is archived on Spreecast.