Bilateral buddies: leaders on both sides of border trade views on new era.Though the heaviest hitters at the AMCHAM National Convention were undoubtedly President Fox and business mogul Carlos Slim, there was a slew of other respected figures who offered their perspectives on key bilateral issues. During an early morning speech, Alfonso Martinez-Fonts, a director in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Noun 1. Department of Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States and AMCHAM'S president in 1988, laid out the four pillars Four Pillars may refer to:
Those four pillars are: intelligence gathering, emergency response, border and transport security--which will involve two-thirds of the department's personnel--and developing technologies to detect weapons of mass destruction Weapons that are capable of a high order of destruction and/or of being used in such a manner as to destroy large numbers of people. Weapons of mass destruction can be high explosives or nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons, but exclude the means of transporting or before they hit U.S. soil. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] But Martinez-Fonts emphasized that his job in the agency was to be the link between business and government. He explained that his tongue-twister title of director of public policy and private sector initiatives meant he is charged with ensuring companies receive "strategic information" on new Homeland Security Noun 1. Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Department of Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States rules. He gave as an example the "transit without visa" program that allowed international travelers to connect to international flights at U.S. airports without needing a visa. The Bush administration suspended the program out of fear terrorists could slip into the country undetected. Martinez-Fonts said his office was asked to discuss with the private sector, especially the airline industry, the impact of the program's suspension and said the result of those meetings was that the suspension would likely be lifted by January. WHERE IS THE BORDER? Another hot topic of Martinez-Font's presentation was the C-TPAT C-TPAT Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (US government) , or Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, program meant to secure the safety of shipments imported into the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and "push back borders to the factory." The government requires member companies to check merchandise, employees, factories and transportation companies and send border officials in advance a detailed report of the what is being shipped and where it originated. However, the official recognized the program alone will not safeguard U.S. borders because "the good guys sign for C-TPAT and the bad guys don't." After a short break following Martinez-Font's speech, a panel of specialists in Mexico-U.S. and domestic relations domestic relations. For psychological and sociological aspects, see marriage. For legal aspects, see divorce; husband and wife; parent and child. opened itself up to questions from the audience on issues ranging from illegal migration to structural reform to the causes of poverty in Mexico. The panelists included Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI PRI: see Institutional Revolutionary party. (Primary Rate Interface) An ISDN service that provides 23 64 Kbps B (Bearer) channels and one 64 Kbps D (Data) channel (23B+D), which is equivalent to the 24 channels of a T1 line. ) Sen. Genaro Borrego, National Action Party (PAN) Sen. Jorge Lozano (born May 17, 1963 in San Luis Potosi) is a retired professional tennis player from from Mexico. On August 22, 1988, he reached his highest doubles ranking of World Number 4. His highest singles ranking was World Number 51. and former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Jeffrey Davidow Jeffrey Davidow (born January 26, 1944) is a career foreign service officer from the U.S. state of Virginia. Davidow has served as a member of the Senior Foreign Service, as well as having been the U.S. Ambassador to Zambia, Venezuela, and Mexico. , who now serves as president of the Institute of the Americas. The three experts agreed the three priorities of bilateral relations were security, commerce and immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. , but Davidow insisted the United States has emphasized drug trafficking and immigration at the expense of other issues. "Don't focus on just one part of the agenda," Davidow said during a one-hour exchange, in which he impressed the audience with his charisma and adeptness in Spanish. In a final speech that capped off the two-day National Convention, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza began by praising AMCHAM on helping keep bilateral and commercial relations on track. He credited Nafta with strengthening the link between Mexican and U.S. institutions and said cooperation in law enforcement is better that ever. But in reference to international issues, particularly the Iraq war, he acknowledged there were differing views in Mexico and the United States Relations between the United States and Mexico are among the most important and complex that each nation maintains. They are shaped by a mixture of mutual interests, shared problems, and growing interdependence. . Presidents Fox and Bush "have a great relationship but there are times when leaders don't see eye-to-eye. Yet their relationship will continue to grow." He took a break to recognize John Bruton for his 30 years of outstanding work as AMCHAM'S executive vice president. Bruton retired in 2002. Without getting into specifics, Ambassador Garza said the U.S. Congress will soon be willing to talk about the sensitive topic of Mexican immigration and advised his audience to expect movement on the issue soon. Armando Saliba is the associate editor of BUSINESS MEXICO. |
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