Opinion: Border mayors should have a voice in review of trade pact

Every morning, before Washington or Mexico City is awake, the relationship between the two countries is already at work. A nurse crosses from Tijuana for a shift in Chula Vista. In Texas, a truck carrying auto parts lines up at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, with components that may cross three more times before becoming a finished vehicle. A student from Matamoros heads to class in Brownsville.

For the roughly 15 million people who live along our shared border, the bilateral relationship is not a set of talking points. It is the daily commute, the payroll, the water supply, the emergency room and the price of groceries. Unlike in the capitals, in border cities the U.S.-Mexico relationship shapes daily life. That is why mayors care so much about the relationship with their neighbors, and why their voices should carry more weight with the federal governments negotiating on their behalf.

On July 1, the first joint review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) concluded without a 16-year renewal. The agreement remains fully in force through 2036, and the two governments have since held several rounds of talks.

North America’s main economic framework now runs on an annual review cycle. For an investor weighing a new plant in Tijuana or a distribution center in El Paso, uncertainty is itself a cost.