U.S., Mexico approve border initiatives

SAN ANTONIO, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- United States and Mexican officials Tuesday approved a series of projects along the border, which they promised, would improve the lives of people on both sides of the Rio Grande.

The actions represent a "combination of resources" which under the North American Free Trade Agreement can be used as a model for jump starting sagging economies across Latin America, according to John B. Taylor, the undersecretary for international affairs at the U.S. Department of Treasury.

"President Bush is committed to this hemisphere and to the economic future of Latin America," Taylor said. "This is a very good sign of U.S. cooperation with Latin American countries."

The projects were approved by the directors of the North American Development Bank, a financial institution established under NAFTA to finance development along the border.

The major agreement calls for the investment of $80 million, half from the United States and half from Mexico, to help fund water conservation projects on both sides of the border, and enable Mexico to fulfill the terms of a 1944 treaty, which calls for Mexico to share waters in the Rio Grande watershed with farmers in Texas' Rio Grande Valley.

The failure of Mexico to share water with Texas has been an increasingly contentious issue between Mexico and the United States.

"Mexico for the first time in recent times has put together a structure to meet the short, medium, and long-term water needs," said Agustin Carstens, Mexico's undersecretary of the treasury and public credit.

"Water is an unpredictable issue, and this is a 'win-win' agreement which will not hurt Mexican farmers and Mexican cities but will increase flows to the Rio Grande," Carstens said.

The NAD bank also approved a low-interest loan for construction of a water and wastewater treatment plant along the Rio Grande in Fabens, Texas, near El Paso, and Taylor and Carstens said a new charter for the institution, approved Tuesday, will allow it to move more quickly to make low-interest loans available to finance badly needed infrastructure projects in the United States and Mexico.

"The proof is in the delivery," Taylor said. "We are trying to make the NAD Bank operational and use these funds more effectively to help municipalities."

Taylor stressed that the Bush administration is "very concerned" about the struggling economies of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, and he said programs instituted during Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's visit to the region last week were "a good sign of cooperation" and that improvements are under way.

"Foremost is the trade promotion authority recently granted to the president by Congress," Taylor said. "That will enable us to do the good kind of things that NAFTA represents, integration of North America, and the consideration of the whole hemisphere, and I think Dr. Carstens and I couldn't agree more on the importance of pursuing that strategy, and we will be doing it together in the months ahead."