Speech #990183130

Speaker. because of the overriding importance of Mexico to the national security interests of the United States. our policy toward our southern ally must be clear and consistent. It is neither. Curbing illegal immigration is alleged to be a top national priority. but earlier this month the administration removed the dutyfree status of many Mexican agricultural products. which will further increase the economic pressure on the one sector of the Mexican economy that produces more illegal immigration northward than any other. The twinplant system. or maquiladoras. is a boon to the United States border economy and represents the secondlargest source of Mexican export earnings. In 1984. however. the administration requested and the Congress passed a trucking law that not only threatens this system but was so convoluted that the Commerce Department today refuses to enforce it.