The Mexican presidency highlighted the effectiveness of the cooperation mechanisms between the United States and Mexico.

Globally, the relationship between the two nations is one of the most complex and dynamic.

U.S.-Mexico Partnership

In its Sixth Government Report, the Presidency of Mexico said it took actions to strengthen Mexico’s relations with both the United States and Canada, considering the period of the last 10 months ending at the end of June 2024.

“It highlighted the dynamism of these relations, which, despite facing significant challenges, have maintained their fluidity thanks to multiple bilateral cooperation mechanisms, as well as at the trilateral level,” it added.

Cooperation mechanisms

In particular, U.S.-Mexico relations are complex due to several factors, including the following:

• The border between the two countries measures 3,145 kilometers (about 1,954 miles).
• The United States is an economic power and Mexico is a developing country, with markedly different income levels.
• Mexico is a Latin country and the United States is an Anglo-Saxon country, each with a strong identity. 
• The United States is one of the most drug-consuming nations in the world and this has influenced the production and trafficking of drugs from Mexico or with Mexico as a transit point.
• There is also a significant traffic of people, arms and contraband products between the two nations.
• Different interests in geopolitics, sometimes opposing, sometimes with a diversity of particular objectives, as for example with respect to China and global value chains, or Latin America and democratic processes.
• The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) regulates extensive trade and investment flows between the three countries, as well as labor and environmental issues.
• Another issue that makes U.S.-Mexico relations difficult is related to public policies focused on trade in goods and services and production sharing.
•  The asymmetry of power between the United States and Mexico complicates negotiations of bilateral or regional agreements to which they are party.

Examples

On December 6, 2023, the U.S.-Mexico High Level Dialogue took place. This event focused on the exchange of information to combat illicit finances, among other points.

A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed. This agreement was between the Railroad Transportation Regulatory Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service. Its objective is to share and exchange data on rail transportation rates for agricultural products. These products are transported between the United States and Mexico.

In addition, at the trilateral level, Mexico, the United States and Canada collaborate within the framework of the North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS).