June 18, 2007

USA / Mexico Trade Corridor

October 24, 2005
San Antonio Business Journal

More than 10 years after the signing of NAFTA in San Antonio, U.S. and Mexico officials have inked a new pact on Monday designed to increase the flow of international trade between Mexico and KellyUSA in San Antonio.

Officials with Mexico's Secretary of Communications and Transportation office and with the U.S. Department of Transportation joined more than 30 Mexican businesses and KellyUSA representatives to commemorate the creation of the new trade route.

The signing ceremony took place at the Plaza San Antonio Hotel, the same hotel where U.S. and Mexico officials signed NAFTA in 1995.

The letter of intent allows for the movement of air, rail and ground cargo, principally from Asia and South America, through Mexico into the United States via KellyUSA -- the industrial park created following the closure of Kelly Air Force Base in 2001.

Within 30 days of signing the document, officials from both countries will name an individual to begin facilitating all the necessary arrangements to ship goods between Mexico and the new Port of San Antonio at KellyUSA.

Previously, all cargo traffic had to stop along the border for processing.

"What we are saying today with this agreement is that we are joining forces with Mexico to develop multimodal corridors that will be mutually beneficial to each partner," Greater Kelly Development Authority CEO Bruce Miller says.

"We're establishing synergies, origin and destination systems, facilitating access to international markets and creating new pathways for producers, importers and exporters to access the global market -- all of which means economic gains for everyone involved," he adds.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Transportation Aaron Dychter says Texas' border already processes more than 70 percent of the commercial products being shipped between the Mexico and the United States.

http://www.nascocorridor.com/pages/about/along.htm