U.S Trade Relations officials Urge Expansion of Cross-Border Flow of Goods
On May 8-9, 2009, University of Texas at El Paso’s (UTEP) College of Business Administration, Border Trade Alliance (BTA), the Foreign Trade Association, and the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez (UACJ) co-sponsored a symposium at UTEP’s El Paso Natural Gas Center with speakers representing the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and other federal agencies, as well as regional academic institutions and business associations. Led by BTA Chair Erin Ward, the event focused on improving U.S.-Mexico cross-border economic and political cooperation, to ensure North America remained competitive in a global economy.
The U.S. government is not shrinking back from trade, because “the truth is, we need to expand trade to grow our economy,” and with other regions in the world in addition to Mexico and Canada, said Shigetomi, director of the Office of Mexico, NAFTA and the Caribbean Affairs, of the U.S. Trade Representative in Washington - from an article on the event in the El Paso Times.
Topics covered included:
- Factors Compromising North American Competitiveness
- Maquiladoras: Role in North American Trade Policy and Issues
- NAFTA: Implications and Consequences of Dispute Settlement Procedures and Direction for Trade Policy
- Trade Policy and Border Research: Academic Projects—Measuring the Competitiveness of Mexican Manufactures in Global Markets
- Expert Roundtable working group on Ports of Entry Infrastructure: Facilities and Traffic Management
To learn more about the event or view the presentations visit University of Texas at El Paso’s (UTEP) website:
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