The US-Mexico Relationship

Spanning 1,954 miles, the U.S.-Mexican border has been one of the most discussed topics in this election cycle—though primarily for its security implications.  Equally important is the U.S.-Mexican economic relationship; Mexico is the second-leading purchaser of U.S. exports and the third-leading supplier of U.S. imports.  This equates to hundreds of billions of dollars in annual trade.

The large amount of trade is mostly tied to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  Prior to implementing NAFTA in 1994, U.S. exports to Mexico were valued at $41.6 billion; in 2014, they were valued at $294.2 billion, representing a 478 percent increase in a relatively short time.  All other measures of trade and foreign direct investment between the two countries have similarly skyrocketed. 

“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62

Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Subscriber+


Related Articles

How Safe Would We Be Without Section 702?

SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW — A provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that has generated controversy around fears of the potential for abuse has proven to be crucial […] More

Search

Close