III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 371 

Expressing the sense of the Senate on the value of the bilateral relationship 

between the United States and Mexico. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 10, 2018 

Mr. FLAKE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate on the value of the 

bilateral relationship between the United States and Mexico. 

Whereas the United States and Mexico share a nearly 2,000- 

mile long border that spans 4 States of the United States 

and 6 Mexican states; 

Whereas for more than a century the United States and Mexico have maintained and fostered diplomatic ties that in 

2017 allow for close cooperation and collaboration on efforts to strengthen security measures along the border, 

combat drug trafficking and illegal immigration, and facilitate cross-border trade; 

Whereas the United States and Mexico have enjoyed economic ties for more than a century that culminated with 

the implementation of the North American Free Trade 

Agreement in 1994, which opened the Mexican market to 


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•SRES 371 IS 

the United States and Canada, creating the largest single 

free trade area in the world; 

Whereas before the North American Free Trade Agreement 

was in effect, in 1993, United States trade in goods with 

Mexico was worth approximately $82,000,000,000, and 

in 2016, United States trade in goods with Mexico was 

worth approximately $525,000,000,000; 

Whereas the United States has invested approximately 

$1,800,000,000 in the Me ́rida Initiative, which focuses on 

the disruption of organized criminal groups, institutionalizing the rule of law, creating a 21st-century border, and 

building resilient communities; 

Whereas cooperation between the United States and Mexico 

to fight drug trafficking and organized crime has grown 

significantly since the implementation of the Me ́rida Initiative and security cooperation has intensified since 

2008 as trade between the United States and Mexico has 

boomed; 

Whereas the United States intelligence community has 

worked effectively with its counterparts in Mexico to assist in the arrest of top criminals and drug traffickers, 

notably Joaquı ́n ‘‘El Chapo’’ Guzma ́n who was extradited 

to the United States by Mexico in 2017; 

Whereas Mexico has assisted the United States in extraditing 

criminals and fugitives of United States law captured in 

Mexico and such cooperation has increased substantially, 

with 12 extraditions in 2000 and 79 in 2016; 

Whereas Mexico has been an important partner in stanching 

the flow of illegal migrants from Central America bound 

for the United States, by deporting hundreds of thouVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Jan 11, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR371.IS SR371

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sands from Mexico before they reach the United States 

border; 

Whereas Mexico is second to only Canada in energy trade 

with the United States, provides crude oil to the United 

States, and imports rapidly growing volumes of both petroleum products and natural gas from the United 

States; 

Whereas recent changes to Mexico’s Constitution allow for 

further cooperation between the United States and Mexico to develop North American energy resources to the 

benefit of both countries; 

Whereas, in 2015, the largest share of business and tourist 

travelers to the United States were from Mexico; 

Whereas the number of United States citizens living in Mexico has steadily increased and exceeded 1,000,000 in 

2017, making United States citizens in Mexico the 

world’s largest United States expatriate community; 

Whereas Mexico is an active participant in international affairs through its membership in the United Nations and 

the Organization of American States, and hosted the G– 

20 Leaders’ Summit in 2012; 

Whereas the United States and Mexico maintain a robust 

education exchange program called the United StatesMexico Bilateral Forum on Higher Education, Innovation, and Research that strengthens student mobility between the United States and Mexico, aiming to send 

100,000 Mexican students to the United States and 

50,000 United States students to Mexico by 2018; 

Whereas the Mexico-United States Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council is a bilateral initiative comprised of 

public and private sector representatives designing new 


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initiatives alongside public policies to enhance regional 

competitiveness that strengthens the high-impact entrepreneurship system in North America; 

Whereas the North American Free Trade Agreement was negotiated 25 years before the date of agreement to this 

resolution, prior to the advancement of new technologies 

and economies, such as the E-commerce sector, that are 

not addressed in the Agreement’s chapters; and 

Whereas approximately 80 percent of Mexico’s exports go to 

the United States and 47 percent of Mexico’s imports 

come from the United States, making the United States 

Mexico’s most significant trading partner: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) values the bilateral relationship between the 

3 United States and Mexico and the many benefits de4 rived from cooperation on security, combating 

5 transnational crime, energy, economic engagement, 

6 and cultural engagement; 

7 (2) recognizes that implementation of the North 

8 American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, and the 

9 resulting increase in trade, has provided a platform 

10 on which cooperation with Mexico on so many levels 

11 has been possible; 

12 (3) recognizes that Mexico is an essential part13 ner for the United States in regional security and 

14 encourages the President to continue to strengthen 


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•SRES 371 IS 

1 ties between the United States and Mexico to help 

2 advance United States regional interests; 

3 (4) understands that the relationship between 

4 the United States and Mexico is strengthened by 

5 interaction between people from the United States 

6 and Mexico and economic interaction; 

7 (5) encourages United States drug enforcement 

8 agencies to continue developing strong cooperative 

9 measures with Mexico since efforts to stem the drug 

10 trade into the United States depend on Mexico’s co11 operation because, among other matters, more than 

12 90 percent of heroin in the United States comes 

13 from Mexico; 

14 (6) stresses the importance of the North Amer15 ican Free Trade Agreement to the United States 

16 economy and to the bilateral relationship between 

17 the United States and Mexico; and 

18 (7) encourages the President to work toward 

19 modernization of the North American Free Trade 

20 Agreement in a way that strengthens the Agreement 

21 so that it can continue to provide benefits to the 

22 peoples of the United States and Mexico and the im23 portant bilateral relationship between the United 

24 States and Mexico. 

Æ 


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