Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker delivered remarks at the inauguration of the Tornillo-Guadalupe Port of Entry and International Bridge in Tornillo, Texas. The port of entry will replace the Fabens-Caseta Port of Entry completed in 1938 and will connect Tornillo, Texas and Guadalupe, Mexico.

During her remarks, Secretary Pritzker highlighted the importance of improving U.S.-Mexico border infrastructure in order to generate economic growth and maintain global competitiveness in the 21st century. With the completion of TPP, the Administration is sharply focused on the economic opportunities along our border.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, and other officials from both the U.S. and Mexican governments were also in attendance.

Remarks as Prepared For Delivery

Good afternoon. President Pena-Nieto: During your first official visit to Washington, you described the U.S.-Mexico relationship as one based on “friendship, cordiality, mutual respect, and shared interests for prosperity and development for our nations.”

Thank you for traveling here today to highlight how our shared border can serve as an essential artery of prosperity for both our countries. We could not have reached this momentous occasion without your inspiring leadership.

I also want to acknowledge the work of our Mexican partners and my U.S. government colleagues. Each of you and your departments were integral to the completion of the Tornillo – Guadalupe project. 

Everyone here today appreciates that the U.S. and Mexican markets are inextricably linked. This region is the staging point for the vast majority of our bilateral commercial activity and will become more important as we implement the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Trade between the United States and Mexico is already six-times greater than its pre-NAFTA level.  But the increase in commercial and pedestrian traffic over the last two decades had not been matched by the necessary infrastructure modernization and expansion. 

Our collective competitiveness depends upon our ability to modernize outdated infrastructure.  As our supply chains become even more intertwined, we need a border that is not only secure, but also facilitates the movement of goods back and forth.

That is why we are prioritizing the development and execution of border infrastructure projects under the U.S.-Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue, or HLED. We have already made progress in this effort. For example, in August, we inaugurated the West Rail Bypass, the first new railway crossing linking the United States and Mexico in more than a century.

Today, I am proud to build on the momentum we have generated through the HLED as we celebrate the opening of the Tornillo – Guadalupe Port of Entry.

More than 3,000 trucks cross the Rio Grande every day, carrying Made-in-America products to customers in Ciudad Juarez and transforming El Paso into a North American commercial hub. The new international bridge and port of entry facilities will increase capacity, open a new path to Mexican customers, provide relief to the long lines and congestion often experienced in this region, and make our border more secure. 

The Tornillo – Guadalupe crossing serves as physical proof of what our governments can achieve when we execute a coordinated strategy that is developed in partnership with our private sectors.

President Pena-Nieto and Secretaries Esparza, Massieu, and Videgaray: I look forward to making further progress at the HLED later this month towards our shared goal of North America as the most competitive region in the world.

Thank you all for being here to officially inaugurate the Tornillo – Guadalupe Border Crossing and for your commitment to keeping the United States and Mexico open for business together.