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Udall Discusses NAFTA, Economic Issues at Border Industrial Association Meeting

By Tom Udall Press Office

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall met with the Border Industrial Association to discuss New Mexico’s important trade relationship with Mexico and the ongoing negotiations over NAFTA, as well as other border-related priorities, including increasing investment at New Mexico’s land ports of entry and President Trump’s push to build a border wall. The Border Industrial Association consists of more than 100 members who employ thousands of people in the Santa Teresa industrial region.

“International trade continues to be a bright spot in New Mexico’s economy. And the success that you are experiencing here along the border is tremendous…. You are all part of this growth and progress. And the federal government should be doing everything it can to support this growth – and help bring more well-paying jobs right here,” Udall said in his remarks.

“I know many of you are worried about the administration’s position on NAFTA… I will continue to fight for a NAFTA agreement that works for New Mexico and the rest of the country. I will also fight any effort by President Trump to unilaterally exit this important trade agreement,” Udall said. “We need better ports of entry. Not walls. A wall does nothing to improve our relations with Mexico, and does a lot to threaten them…. We need to build and rebuild roads, bridges, train tracks, light rail, schools. We need to bring high speed internet to our rural areas. Those projects bring work and jobs. Billions of dollars for a wall that won’t work is a boondoggle.”

The meeting comes as the seventh round of NAFTA talks is scheduled to begin in Mexico City on Feb. 25. Trump has continued to threaten to withdraw the United States from the important but flawed trade agreement. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier today, Trump again called it “no good.” Udall, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, has worked to ensure the voices of New Mexico’s workers, small businesses and employers are heard in Washington as talks continue. Friday’s meeting was follow up to a panel discussion Udall convened in Santa Teresa last year.

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