VZCZCXRO6014
OO RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #4460/01 2331710
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 211710Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8498
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEAHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 004460 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/MX FOR ELIZABETH WOLFSON, BUCK WALDROP, DAN DARRACH; 
DOC FOR GERI WORD, MIGUEL HERNANDEZ, CAMERON CUSHMAN; USTR 
FOR JOHN MELLE, KENT SHIGATOMI; WHITE HOUSE FOR JONATHAN 
HOFFMAN; DHS FOR AL MARTINEZ FONTS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECIN ETRD ELTN PGOV PREL MX
SUBJECT: MEXICO BORDER WORKING GROUP TOUR A SUCCESS 
 
REF: A. MEXICO 00379 
     ¶B. MEXICO 1600 
 
Summary and Introduction 
------------------------ 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The U.S.-Mexico Border Facilitation Working 
Group (BFWG) toured points of entry (POEs) in Laredo, 
Nogales, and San Diego to witness first hand the bottlenecks 
that limit cross border trade and gain insight on possible 
low cost/high impact changes that could rectify the problems. 
 The group also engaged local government officials and 
business leaders on their ideas for border trade 
facilitation.  Following the successful trip, Mission Mexico 
looks forward to continuing our trade facilitation work.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On July 29-August 1, the Border Facilitation Working 
Group (BFWG), a bi-national created at the March 2007 Merida 
Summit, toured POE's to study border operations and engage 
the private sector on solutions to facilitate cross border 
trade. DHS Asst Secretary for the Private Sector, Al 
Martinez-Fonts headed the U.S. delegation which included 
representatives from CBP, the White House (Homeland Security 
Council), Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture, 
Department of State, General Services Administration, and 
Department of Transportation.  The Mexican Delegation, headed 
by Dr. Alberto Ortega Veznor, Chief Advisor to the Secretary 
of Economy, included representatives from the office of 
Mexican President Calderon (Presidencia,) the Secretariat of 
Communications and Transportation,  Foreign Relations 
Secretariat, Customs, Secretariat of the Interior, and the 
 
SIPDIS 
Agriculture Secretariat (SEGARPA).  During the three day 
tour, the group met with stakeholders and business leaders in 
Laredo, Nogales/Tucson, and San Diego, and visited the 
Columbia and Laredo World Trade Bridge crossings (Laredo, 
Texas), as well as the Mariposa (Nogales, Arizona), and Otay 
Mesa (San Diego, California) commercial crossings. 
 
Laredo/Nuevo Laredo/Colombia 
---------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) In Laredo the group visited both the World Trade 
Bridge (WTB) that crosses into Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican 
state of Tamaulipas, and the Colombia Bridge 20 miles west of 
Laredo that crosses into Colombia, Nuevo Leon.   While WTB is 
operating at well beyond its capacity, Columbia is being 
underutilized. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Mexican customs permits are not currently 
transferable, so a truck that would usually use WTB cannot 
shift to the Colombia Bridge without purchasing a different 
crossing permit.  There is also a perception among drivers 
that that Texas Department of Public Safety inspection of 
trucks at Colombia targets Mexican trucks and is harsher than 
at WTB.  The group discussed possible ways to encourage 
greater use of the Colombia crossing by making Mexican 
customs permits valid for both POE's and by adding signs in 
Mexico to direct traffic to Colombia.  The group also would 
put representatives from the Texas Department of Public 
Safety in contact with Mexican officials to try to clarify 
their procedures and reassure drivers that they will not be 
adversely targeted at the Colombia crossing. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The group was encouraged by some of the changes that 
have already been implemented at the Laredo area crossings. 
CDP opened two new Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program lanes 
at Colombia and is considering the possibility of expanding 
WTB by 7 lanes (from 8-15).  The city of Nuevo Laredo also 
has plans to expand the road leading up the FAST lane at WTB. 
  Expansion of WTB and increased usage of Colombia will serve 
to end many of the bottlenecks experienced in the Laredo 
area. 
 
Laredo Area Rail 
---------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Kansas City Southern (KCS) has been working through 
the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC) to improve 
on cross border rail service.   KCS runs the rail crossing 
through Laredo and is the subcontractor for Union Pacific 
(UP) for the crossing as well.   KCS presented the group with 
an overview of their operations and suggestions for 
 
MEXICO 00004460  002 OF 003 
 
 
improvement.  One suggestion was keeping the same crew into 
the rail yards in Laredo to cut down on time spent at the 
border crossing (the crew currently changes on the bridge 
crossing the Rio Grande).  They also suggested better 
coordination of arrival times for crew changes (U.S. to 
Mexican crew for southbound trains and vice versa for 
northbound trains) and better synching between customs 
agencies on both sides of the border to avoid duplication of 
work. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Officials from the City of Laredo and Webb County 
have been interested in building a new rail bridge at west of 
the current bridge for some time now as the current bridge is 
predicted to be at capacity within the next five years.  They 
have recently agreed on a joint proposal for a presidential 
permit request but KCS has come out strongly against the 
plans presented by the local government because it would 
require them make extensive investments in new rail lines and 
years.  KCS has presented an alternate location to the east 
of Laredo.  Both locations would move the rail bridge out of 
downtown Laredo where it currently causes serious 
disruptions. 
 
¶8. (SBU) While the new rail bridge is a necessity, officials 
will have to negotiate with two competing rail companies. 
Officials from KCS, particularly, say that they will not use 
the new rail crossing if it forces them away from their 
current rail yard and they have proposed an alternate 
location that would allow them to maintain the use of their 
Laredo rail yards. 
 
Nogales, Arizona /Nogales, Sonora 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Geographical limitations on the road leading to the 
crossing limits Nogales' mostly agricultural traffic, though 
stakeholders are looking for simple improvements to speed the 
crossing.  The business community has a good relationship 
with the port director, having already convinced him to open 
the port of entry on Sunday during the peak growing season. 
They now are seeking to extend the port's operating hours. 
Responding to a  June BFWG tasking, Mexican Customs (Aduanas) 
has already posted new signs and extended jersey barriers a 
kilometer prior to the U.S. port of entry to separate FAST 
lanes from regular traffic.  By separating the FAST lanes 
earlier on, Aduanas prevents none FAST truckers from using 
the FAST lanes and decreases the wait time for the trucks 
that are authorized to use the lanes.  Aduanas officials also 
described plans to further extend the barriers. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Companies were especially concerned by Mexican 
military checkpoints approximately 150 km from the POE. 
Soldiers, searching for drugs and other contraband, do not 
respect the seals that are placed on the vehicles and open up 
to 50 percent of the trucks for inspections.  Companies 
cannot participate in CTPAT nor the future cross border 
trucking pilot programs because they cannot guarantee their 
supply chain's integrity.  Additionally, insects and vermin 
can enter the trucks when they are opened at the checkpoints 
and cause greater scrutiny for the company when the trucks 
are inspected after entering the U.S.   Presidencia will 
investigate these claims and try to, if necessary, work with 
the military to either honor the seals or recognize CTPAT or 
FAST designations. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Comment: The Nogales port of entry is in serious 
need of expansion and is a priority under CBP's 5 year plan. 
While they are limited in the changes that can be made, 
Nogales is a perfect of example of a location where little 
changes can make a big different.  If the GOM can deliver on 
the changes needed on their side, Nogales can be held up as 
an example of bi-national cooperation having a large impact 
in a very challenging situation.  End Comment. 
 
San Diego/Tijuana 
----------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Trade across the border in the San Diego area has 
grown by over 500% over the past 15 years and the border 
infrastructure has not kept up.  Stakeholders on both sides 
of the border suggest that the San Diego/Tijuana area is 10 
years behind where it needs to be given its rapid growth and 
that improvement plans have too long of a timeframe to bridge 
 
MEXICO 00004460  003 OF 003 
 
 
the gap.  The leaders of the BFWG encouraged members to help 
the federal government find ways to improve the situation 
until longer term fixes could be implemented.  One recurring 
suggestion from business leaders was an increase in the use 
of public private partnerships to capture financing for the 
needed development.  They suggested that a toll scheme could 
encourage a private company to make an investment in building 
a new crossing. 
 
¶12. (SBU) In San Diego, the group also toured the POE at Otay 
Mesa to see the challenges that are facing trade in the area. 
 The crossing is severely overtaxed and CBP plans to expand 
the facility within the next 2-3 years to accommodate the 
traffic.  There are also plans to build a second new 
commercial crossing east of the current crossing.  While the 
tour was only a snap shot of the traffic,  the group did 
notice that empty trucks were waiting up to 2 hours to cross 
with drivers confirming that it can take up to 4 hours for an 
empty truck to cross into the U.S.  Mexican customs officials 
will try to work with CBP to find a solution and minimize the 
times that empty trucks sit idling. 
 
¶13. (SBU) San Diego leaders were the most vocal in expressing 
their displeasure with the way the federal (and to some 
extent, state) governments have handled the development at 
the crossings along the border.  At the same time, however, 
they seemed willing and ready to participate in 
public-private partnerships or pay tolls if it were to 
finance a new bridge. Stakeholders believe governments must 
work to alleviate congestion while planning for new bridges 
and expansions. 
 
Wrap Up 
------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) Comment.  Overall the visit was a success.  Local 
business leaders were grateful to have their concerns heard 
by federal officials and federal officials were able to 
witness the challenges to cross-border trade and hear 
problems and possible solutions from those who are directly 
affected.  The group has become exactly what the Presidents 
desired during their Merida meeting, a senior-level working 
group that will find short-, medium-, and long-term answers 
for the difficulties in passing goods across our common 
border.  Working together across agencies and across 
governments is allowing solutions to be implemented in quick, 
efficient and effective ways.  By engaging the local private 
sectors and incorporating best practices into the process, 
the group is making changes that should have far reaching 
results.  In a meeting with head of the Mexican delegation 
Alberto Ortega after the tour, he agreed that maintaining a 
high level group that can integrate economic and security 
considerations is important 
to the group's potential to achieve concrete results.  End 
Comment. 
 
 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American 
Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
BASSETT