New North-South Harmony

After several years in which relations between Mexico and the United States ranged from testy to downright unfriendly, it is refreshing to report that last week’s state visit by President Carlos Salinas de Gortari was decidely upbeat. More importantly, Salinas’ talks with President Bush laid the groundwork for future cooperation in two areas of vital concern to both nations--trade and the environment.

The most noteworthy achievement at the summit was an agreement to begin negotiations aimed at reducing trade and investment barriers between the two countries. That’s always a good place to start, because even when Mexico and the United States have been estranged politically, they have been pulled together by their mutual economic dependence. Mexico is the third-largest market for U.S. goods and sells 75% of its exports to this country; trade in both directions totaled $44 billion last year alone. Mexican labor helps keep many U.S. farms and factories going. And most economists agree that foreign investment, particularly from the United States, will be needed to help revive Mexico’s economy from its recent recession.

Administration officials said the trade talks could lead to a “significant evolution” in trade relations between the two nations. Because of the disparity between their two economies, the United States and Mexico are still a long way from signing a free-trade agreement like the one recently signed between this country and Canada. But the planned negotiations should help lower the tariffs and other barriers that keep Mexican goods like auto parts and winter crops out of the United States. They could also lead to further revisions of the nationalistic laws that keep non-Mexicans from investing in Mexico. And a healthier Mexican economy would relieve the United States of concern about political unrest south of the border, and could help slow the movement of Mexican illegal immigrants to this country.

On the environmental agenda, Bush agreed to send U.S. experts to provide technical advice to officials struggling to reduce air pollution in Mexico City, whose air is even dirtier than that of Los Angeles. And Salinas agreed that Mexico would cooperate with U.S. efforts to reduce water pollution along the border, a particular problem in San Diego, where beaches are sometimes dirtied by untreated sewage from Tijuana.

There are still some areas of disagreement. While pledging to cooperate with the Administration’s highly touted war on drugs, Salinas said Mexico will still not let U.S. law officers, or this country’s military, operate in Mexican territory even when they are in hot pursuit of suspected smugglers. And, like other Mexican presidents before him, Salinas criticized this country’s treatment of Mexican migrant workers, telling Congress to “get rid of myths” that illegal aliens take jobs from U.S. citizens. So, obviously, the summit was a success because both presidents chose to focus on the issues they could agree on while putting potential disagreements aside. But if the formal agreements they signed help bring the two “distant neighbors” closer, the subjects they disagree on could be easier to deal with in the future.