At the US-Mexico Border, Many Depend on Trade

AS IT IS 2016-08-01 At the US-Mexico Border, Many Depend on Trade

Immigration and border security are two major issues in the United States’ presidential election campaign.

The candidates of the two main parties have voiced different ideas about border security.

The Republican Party’s candidate, Donald Trump¹, has proposed to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party’s nominee², has taken aim at that proposal.

On July 22, President Barack Obama hosted his Mexican counterpart, President Enrique Pe?a Nieto, at the White House. The idea was to publicize the good relations between the two countries.

Americans living near the Mexican border have as many different views as those voiced at the recent U.S. political conventions.

Some want to continue good relations with Mexico. They want to keep the boundary area secure. They also want to increase business with their neighbors on the other side of the border.

For example, goods and people cross between Nogales, Mexico, and the U.S. city of Nogales, Arizona, at the new Mariposa inland port.

Many Mexicans with visas pass through the crossing station to buy goods or work on the U.S. side. There is a long wait on both sides of the line, and a large barrier has been built along the border there.

The Reverend Randy Mayer is a migrant rights activist³. He says many Mexicans decide to stay in Mexico when they see the crossing.

“What happens here along the border is that commerce and business is almost stopped, and what should be a multi-billion dollar industry is actually suffering.”

Cross-border commerce continues to help Nogales and also the city of Tucson, Arizona, which is about 100 kilometers to the north.

Mike Varney is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Tucson Metro⁴ Chamber⁵ of Commerce. He supports a balance between border security and commerce.

“We want to keep bad people and bad things out of our country, but at the same time, we don’t want to put the brakes on cross-border trade...”

Varney points out that Mexicans seem to add a lot to the local economy.

“Mexican citizens come to the Tucson area and spend about a billion dollars a year in our stores and our hotels, buying all kinds of services and products here.”

However, Varney says companies that do business across the border are even more important. These include companies that open headquarters or special offices in Tucson to direct cross-border manufacturing projects.

Import-export businesses also are important to the area’s economy.

Varney is frustrated⁶ by the way the border issues is discussed in national news stories.

“Economic expansion and job growth just doesn’t have the sizzle that a drug bust⁷ does, but obviously we cherish the international trade that we enjoy here in Arizona, and we want to do everything we can to expand that...”

Many Arizonans blame illegal immigration for suppressing wages in the United States. And they say illegal immigrants increase education and health care costs, and violent crime.

Voters in Arizona have supported proposals to limit immigration. But Varney notes that business leaders have lobbied for less restrictive measures.

“It’s a mix of politics; it’s a mix of trade and economy; it’s a mix of international relations, so it is a complicated recipe and we need to pay attention to all the ingredients that go into that recipe.”

He says there are even more possibilities for bilateral⁸ trade and commerce once other border crossing stations are completed and fully⁹ operational.

Mexico is America’s third largest trade partner. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says trade between the two countries is valued at more than $580 dollars.

Mexico is currently the second largest export market for U.S. goods and services.

Words in This Story

counterpart – n. one of two people with the same position or job, but who are from another government, group or business

commerce – n. business, the exchange of goods and services

frustrated – adj. blocked from reaching a goal, discouraged

lobby – v. to make an effort to influence the government to make a decision to support an industry, company, or movement

recipe – n. a set of directions to make something, often food

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

5 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

6 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

8 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。