U.S. relations with Mexico are as important and complex as with any country in the world. A stable, democratic, and economically prosperous Mexico is fundamental to U.S. interests. U.S. relations with Mexico have a direct impact on the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans--whether the issue is trade and economic reform, drug control, migration, or the promotion of democracy. The U.S. and Mexico are partners in NAFTA, and enjoy a rapidly developing trade relationship.

The scope of U.S.-Mexican relations goes far beyond diplomatic and official contacts; it entails extensive commercial, cultural, and educational ties, as demonstrated by the annual figure of nearly a million legal border crossings a day. In addition, more than a half-million American citizens live in Mexico. More than 2,600 U.S. companies have operations there, and the U.S. accounts for 60% of all foreign direct investment in Mexico. Along the 2,000-mile shared border, state and local governments interact closely.

There is frequent contact at the highest levels, including telephone calls. The Presidents' meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Bangkok in October 2003 was the latest in a series of personal meetings that includes President Bush's visit in March 2002 to Monterrey, his April 2001 visit to Guanajuato, and President Fox's state visit to the U.S. in September 2001.

Since 1981, the management of the broad array of U.S.-Mexico issues has been formalized in the U.S.-Mexico Binational Commission, composed of numerous U.S. cabinet members and their Mexican counterparts. The commission holds annual plenary meetings, and many subgroups meet during the course of the year to discuss trade and investment opportunities, financial cooperation, consular issues and migration, legal affairs and anti-narcotics cooperation, education, energy, border affairs, environment and natural resources, labor, agriculture, health, housing and urban development, transportation, and science and technology. The commission met most recently in November 2003 in Washington.

A strong partnership with Mexico is critical to controlling the flow of illicit drugs into the United States. Cooperation on counternarcotics and Mexico's own initiatives in fighting drug trafficking have been unprecedented. The U.S. will continue working with Mexico to help ensure that Mexico's cooperation and anti-drug efforts grow even stronger. The U.S. and Mexico continue to cooperate on narcotics interdiction, demand reduction, and eradication.

Border and Environmental Affairs
Cooperation between the United States and Mexico along the 2,000-mile common border includes state and local problem-solving mechanisms; transportation planning; and institutions to address resource, environment, and health issues. In 1993, the Border Liaison Mechanism (BLM) was established; now 10 BLMs chaired by U.S. and Mexican consuls operate in "sister city" pairs. BLMs have proven to be effective means of dealing with a variety of local issues ranging from accidental violation of sovereignty by law enforcement officials and charges of mistreatment of foreign nationals to coordination of port security and cooperation in public health matters such as tuberculosis. The BLMs form an integral part of the "New Border Vision."

As the number of people and the volume of cargo crossing the U.S.-Mexico border grow, so, too, does the need for coordinated infrastructure development. The multi-agency U.S.-Mexico Binational Group on Bridges and Border Crossings meets twice yearly to improve the efficiency of existing crossings and coordinate planning for new ones. The 10 U.S. and Mexican border states have become active participants in these meetings.

The United States and Mexico have a history of cooperation on environmental and natural resource issues, particularly in the border area, where there are serious environmental problems caused by rapid population growth, urbanization, and industrialization. Cooperative activities between the U.S. and Mexico take place under a number of agreements such as:

• An 1889 convention establishing the International Boundary Commission, reconstituted by the Water Treaty of 1944 as the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico (IBWC). The IBWC has settled many difficult U.S.-Mexico boundary and water problems, including the regularization of the Rio Grande near El Paso through the 1967 Chamizal settlement. The IBWC divides the use of international waters, builds and operates water conservation and flood control projects, and constructs and maintains boundary markers on the land boundary and on international bridges. In recent years, the IBWC has worked to resolve longstanding border sanitation problems, to monitor the quantity and quality of border waters, and to address water delivery and sedimentation problems of the Colorado River. Current issues include Mexico's water debt to the U.S. on the Rio Grande, ecology of the Colorado River Delta, shared wastewater treatment facilities in San Diego/Tijuana, and the impact on Mexican groundwater sources which may be caused by the lining of the All-American Canal.
• A series of agreements on border health (since 1942), wildlife and migratory birds (since 1936), national parks, forests, marine and atmospheric resources. In July of 2000, the U.S. and Mexico signed an agreement to establish a binational Border Health Commission. The Border Health Commission held its inaugural meeting in November 2000.
• The 1983 La Paz Agreement to protect and improve the border environment and Border XXI, a binational, interagency planning program, begun in 1996, to address environmental, natural resource, and environmental health concerns in the border area. The U.S. and Mexico have initiated discussion to develop a new border environmental program that will build on the progress of Border XXI while enhancing decentralization and stakeholders' involvement.
• The 1993 North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), creating the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation under NAFTA by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, to improve enforcement of environmental laws and to address common environmental concerns.
• A November 1993 agreement between the U.S. and Mexico, also related to NAFTA, establishing the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) which works with local communities to develop and certify environmental infrastructure projects such as wastewater treatment plants, drinking water systems, and solid waste disposal facilities. The sister organization, the North American Development Bank (NADBank), uses capital and grant funds contributed by partner governments to help finance border environmental infrastructure projects certified by the BECC. BECC has certified more than 40 environment infrastructure projects, 35 of which are now built or are under construction. In November 2000, the BECC's role was expanded to include hazardous waste and water conservation projects.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico is located at Paseo de la Reforma 305, 06500 Mexico, DF. U.S. Mailing Address: Box 3087, Laredo, Texas 78044-3087, Tel. (from the U.S.): (011) (52) 555-080-2000. Internet: http://www.usembassy-mexico.gov

The embassy and the 19 other U.S. Consulates General, Consulates, and consular agents provide a range of services to American students, tourists, business people, and residents throughout Mexico.