Bipartisan Legislation to Facilitate Increased Border Trade Sent to the President's Desk

Press Release

This week, Congress approved an important border infrastructure bill, sending the legislation to the President's desk. The Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act builds upon the previous work by Senator John Cornyn and Representatives Henry Cuellar, Will Hurd, and Beto O'Rourke to increase financing flexibility for personnel and facility upgrades at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) crossings. The law makes permanent a successful pilot program that decreased commercial wait times at the border.

"International trade and commerce is the life-blood for many towns in my district; however, our ports of entry are overburdened. Decreasing the time it takes to move goods and services safely across the border would have a tremendous economic impact on the region," said Hurd, who represents over 800 miles of the Texas-Mexico border. "I'm grateful for Senator Cornyn's efforts to get this important language through the Senate, and excited for the South and West Texas businesses and communities that will reap the benefits."

"Every day, billions of dollars in commerce passes across the United States' border with Mexico--one of our most important trade partners," Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX) said. "It's important for both national security and the flow of goods between our countries that the process is as efficient and effective as possible and this legislation is an important step in that direction."

"Our border communities and the entire state's economy benefit from robust trade with Mexico," said Senator John Cornyn. "Facilitating more efficient trade through our ports of entry will demonstrate our commitment to both growing Texas' economy and the vibrant U.S.-Mexico relationship."

Under the new law, the CBP can:

Provide additional customs, agricultural processing, border security, or inspection-related immigration services at border ports of entry for a fee
Share construction and maintenance costs for border facilities with the GSA
Accept donations from individuals in the form of money, facility construction and maintenance, or infrastructure
"Efficient border crossings help stimulate legitimate trade and commerce along the U.S.-Mexico Border," said Marcos Delgado,‎ Executive Vice President of The Borderplex Alliance. "As an organization dedicated to spurring regional economic growth, business leaders across the region often tell us that long wait times at the border impacts their bottom line and ability to continue to grow. If we want to keep our North American advantage and strong trading relationships with Mexico, we need solutions such as those in the Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act that can help us decrease wait times and build more efficient infrastructure along the border."

"Many Eagle Pass businesses and families rely on cross-border trade with Mexico. Improving the speed and efficiency that we can move goods across the border safely will have a positive economic impact on our community," said Sandra Martinez, Executive Director of the Eagle Pass Chamber of Commerce. "I commend Representative Hurd, Representative Cuellar, and Senator Cornyn for working together to champion border trade and serve the needs of hardworking Texans."

"The Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce has been a strong advocate for improved cross border movement of goods for more than 20 years. The commitment of Congressman Hurd, partnering with Congressional colleagues in a bi-partisan effort to approve this initiative, is appreciated and critical to the future of our nation's economy," said Richard Dayoub, President and CEO of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce.

"The efforts to minimize the wait times on our ports of entry are imperative for our local businesses and our economy as a whole," states Cindy Ramos-Davidson CEO of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "El Paso is connected in every aspect to Mexico and it will encourage and drive more trade and consumers to our growing city."

"Our nation's trade with Mexico has grown by leaps and bounds over the past two decades and supports roughly 6 million U.S. jobs. However, border infrastructure has not kept up with growth. Updating our land ports of entry, which lack the infrastructure and staffing necessary to support increased levels of trade crossing into Del Rio, are necessary to reduce border wait times and enhance cross border trade," said Mike Wrob, Del Rio Chamber of Commerce President. ""Since the start of the program, wait times in El Paso have decreased 15 percent for commercial traffic and 14 percent for car traffic. This gives Del Rio options in the future if wait times become an issue. It also gives us a way to increase traffic throughput without adding infrastructure. We thank Senator John Cornyn and U.S. Representatives Will Hurd, Henry Cuellar, and Beto O'Rourke for championing this legislation."

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