Improving the Border Agency Cooperation
Among the OIC Member States for Facilitating Trade
34
areas along the border. The latter also facilitates collaborative enforcement operations,
improves communication and supports joint assessments and planning.47
2.2.3. Summary and discussions
The three main initiatives were created for different reasons but with similar objectives. One
of the objectives is the achievement of the 21st Century Border. The initiatives all have
different tasks and scope. For instance, the 21st Century Border initiative is more operational
in comparison to the HLED, which is a political forum that discusses various matters, including
trade facilitation across the border, deepening of regulatory cooperation, education, energy
cooperation, investment and innovation, among other initiatives. The Merida Initiative is
considered to be a partnership to disrupt organised criminal groups in order to achieve shared
objectives.
A major challenge for BAC on the border between the US and Mexico is the large number of
federal, state and local government agencies that work in this zone, as well as the number of
stakeholders and their interests, especially from the Mexican side. Within the federal system in
Mexico, there are several local authorities that deal with federal and transnational problems
and threats, but which lack the resources to address them.48
According to an interview conducted with the attaché at the American Embassy in Mexico, the
main obstacle to expanding BAC activities on the border is the lack of prioritisation of all the
activities and objectives which have to be accomplished. The border area and the number of
points of entry makes it more difficult to determine the project priorities. Added to this, the
HLED can change, cancel and include different initiatives that improve the border, but make it
even more difficult to administer at the same time. Lack of trust between the agencies across
the border is another obstacle. Some border agencies have preconceptions about others, which
reduces the effectiveness of the cooperation. Another obstacle to the BAC process is insecurity.
According to the above-mentioned attaché, there are regions along the border in which the US
agencies have concerns about getting close to, since law enforcement is difficult in some areas.
Furthermore, there are some issues that need to be resolved to improve the BAC:49
 investment in border security and the Merida Initiative,50
 engagement of the private sector to improve supply chain security and trade
facilitation,
 investment in infrastructure,
 the pursuit of meaningful immigration reform.
The tangible benefits of the initiatives explained above result from the unprecedented
cooperation between the two countries, and this cooperation is likely to continue to grow.
Problems do not arise from a single source, and therefore solutions should be tackled by both
parties. Both the US and Mexico are concerned about same issues, such as dismantling criminal
organisations and reducing the cost of transactions and trade for their exporters. Based on this
case, it is evident that political discussion has to be involved in order to get things moving. The
47 U.S. – Mexico 21st Century Border Management, 2013
48 Ramos (2002)
49 U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2011
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