politicians and pundits often warn us away from greater cooperation across national borders. You hear how free trade hurts workers. You hear that trading partners take advantage of one another. And you hear that we are losing to China or India, or whichever country fits this narrative best on any given day.
We are told we can fix these problems by turning inward. Buy only home-grown products. Shy away from trade deals. Punish partners with high tariffs. Shut the door on neighbors.
Yet the growth of our economy is linked to the global marketplace. In particular, our close relationships strengthen our domestic economy. And nowhere is this more true than in North America, which remains one of the world’s most competitive economic platforms. An economically vibrant North America, and the continued cooperation, interconnection, and integration of the American, Mexican, and Canadian economies, is fundamental to our shared success.
An economically vibrant North America, and the continued cooperation, interconnection, and integration of the American, Mexican, and Canadian economies, is fundamental to our shared success.
North America on display in San Diego/Tijuana
But we must keep building these relationships to keep growing and thriving. For that reason, the Bush Institute’s North America Working Group has been meeting to identify ways to make North America more competitive.
In fact, earlier this year we spent two days touring projects along the San Diego/Tijuana border. We made the trip to see how closer economic relations among the three nations of North America can produce growth that benefits citizens and consumers on both sides of the border.
As part of the tour, we visited the Cross Border Xpress airport terminal. To the delight of San Diego residents, the sky bridge provides an alternative that cuts the border crossing time to a mere three minutes.
For years, San Diego residents had used the Tijuana International Airport when traveling to destinations where service from the San Diego International Airport was not convenient. The decision was entirely rational, but it also involved an extra 45 minutes or more of travel. Crossing the U.S./Mexico border by car took at least that long.
Then came the building of the Cross Border Xpress terminal in 2015. The facility is located in San Diego and connected to Tijuana International Airport via a pedestrian bridge. For a small fee, San Diego-based passengers can park on the U.S. side, pass through the necessary immigration and customs checks for both countries, cross the border on the sky bridge, process through airport security, and continue to their flight.
Something as simple as a sky bridge highlights the underlying strength of the communities that we share along our borders.
Something as simple as a sky bridge highlights the underlying strength of the communities that we share along our borders.
In fact, that is the more important story here. The Cross Border Xpress, which is privately-owned by Mexican and American investors, serves this cross-border community in an innovative, practical way. This kind of public-private relationship represents the future of economic cooperation along the border.
https://www.bushcenter.org/catalyst/north-american-century/canada-mexico-us-need-each-other.html
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