U.S., Mexican Officials Sign Customs And Border-Security Agreement

MEXICO CITY (AP) _ Mexican and U.S. customs officials signed an agreement Monday aimed at fighting contraband and terrorism while streamlining trade across the border. <br/><br/>The agreement sets up four

Tuesday, August 14th 2007, 7:23 am

By: News On 6

MEXICO CITY (AP) _ Mexican and U.S. customs officials signed an agreement Monday aimed at fighting contraband and terrorism while streamlining trade across the border.

The agreement sets up four working groups to encourage cooperation between agencies on both sides of the border, which sees more than $320 billion in trade cross each year, said Mexico Customs Administrator Juan Jose Bravo.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Ralph Basham said the agreement represents a mutual desire of the United States and Mexico to protect their people and economies.

Basham said the relationship with Mexico is crucial to the U.S. customs and border patrol agency's mission of keeping ``terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the United States _ and to do so without slowing down the flow of legitimate trade.''

He said the plan gives customs officials a roadmap for sharing information, encouraging professionalism, facilitating trade, improving cooperation among law enforcement and ensuring ways to resume business should it be disturbed ``for any reason.''

Among the goals Mexican and U.S. customs officials hope to achieve are the synchronization of electronic data and increased transparency between agencies to help root out corruption.

Bravo said 70,000 trucks and 250,000 passenger vehicles cross the 1,860-mile border each day, while commerce between the two nations is growing at an annual rate of 10 percent.