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WRITTEN TESTIMONY BY GLENN
HAMER
PRESIDENT AND CEO
ARIZONA CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
BEFORE THE HOUSE AD-HOC
COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND COMMERCE
FEBRUARY 10, 2014
Representatives
Forese and Miranda and committee members, for the record my name is Glenn Hamer
and I am the president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
On behalf of Arizona’s job creators, I thank you for the opportunity to provide
testimony at this important hearing.
I believe
you have convened this hearing at a critical time in our state’s relationship
with our neighbor to the south, a relationship that continues to improve and
strengthen thanks to outstanding leaders like Sandra Watson at the Arizona
Commerce Authority; Margie Emmermann at the Arizona Mexico Commission; and Hank
Marshall at the City of Phoenix, who you will hear from later in this panel.
Last month
we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the implementation of the
North American Free Trade Agreement, a trilateral trade pact that created incredible
market access for manufacturers, increased consumer choice and was integral to
the creation of millions of jobs here in the U.S.
With 20
years of positive experience under our collective belts, the U.S., Mexico and
Canada are now part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks, an agreement
poised to link the markets of Asia and the Americas, accounting for 792 million
people and a combined GDP of $27.5 trillion. [1]
The NAFTA nations together are stepping strongly into the next generation of international
trade.
The
importance of trade with Mexico is not lost on the Arizona Chamber of Commerce
and Industry or the larger business community. We are fully cognizant of the
six million U.S. jobs that depend on trade with Mexico and the $12 billion in
trade between Mexico and Arizona in 2012 alone.[2]
A productive, meaningful relationship with Mexico is critical to our country
and our state’s economic health.
To that end,
the Chamber in 2012 formed a Trade and Tourism Committee, which serves as our
one-stop public policy shop for trade and international travel promotion. Under
the auspices of this committee, our Chamber has advocated for improved
transportation links between our state and Sonora, increased international
flights from Mexico and better resources and infrastructure to process the
trade flowing between our two countries. Last year, Sonora Gov. Guillermo Padrés Elías
was a featured speaker at our Arizona Manufacturers Council Manufacturer of the
Year Awards. The governor reminded everyone in attendance of the unique and
special relationship between our two states and why our two states’ economic
futures are so intertwined.
In 2013
alone, I had the distinct pleasure of traveling to Mexico City with our Speaker
of the House Andy Tobin and members of this committee as part of a bipartisan
delegation of lawmakers and business leaders to visit with members of Mexico’s
Congress, and I have traveled to Guadalajara with Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton to
kick-off new air service between those two cities by Volaris Airlines, a
Mexican low-cost carrier, adding to the already robust offerings to and from
Mexico by U.S. Airways from their Phoenix hub.
Our
professional sports teams have also recognized the importance of the Mexican
market and the positive role sports can play in forging new relationships. I
can tell you from my experience on the Guadalajara trade mission that having
the Diamondbacks’ World Series hero Luis Gonzalez as part of your delegation
makes an incredibly positive impression. Our NFL Arizona Cardinals have played
a regular season game in Mexico City and have a huge broadcast presence in
Mexico, where their games are broadcast to 18 cities throughout the country,
including Mexico City and Guadalajara. The NBA’s Phoenix Suns have not only
participated in trade missions to Mexico, but they are the first NBA team to
conduct their own youth basketball clinics in that country.
That Arizona
is actively courting new business opportunities in Mexico might come as a
surprise to some, but not to longtime Arizonans, who can point to a rich legacy
of cross-border leadership.
Former
Southern Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe is a nationally recognized expert in the
importance of trade between the U.S. and Mexico. His contribution to the
U.S.-Mexico relationship is so consequential that it is not hyperbole to say
that without Jim Kolbe, there might not be a NAFTA.
Congressman
Kolbe was also critical in the expansion of the border travel zone, which
governs how far Mexican nationals in possession of a valid Border Crossing Card
may travel before requiring additional documentation. Because of Rep. Kolbe’s
work in 1999, Mexicans crossing the border into Arizona may travel as far north
as Tucson, where they can enjoy world-class resorts and shopping destinations.
Along most of the U.S.-Mexico border, Mexican visitors may travel only 25 miles
north before requiring an additional form[3],
though last year, the Department of Homeland Security expanded the border zone
in New Mexico, where business leaders there cited Arizona’s positive experience
as a case study for increased travel access.[4]
The Maricopa Association of Governments is now leading an effort for the entire
state to be considered as part of the border travel zone as a means to further
grow the tourism opportunities between Arizona and Mexico.[5]
Congressman
Kolbe’s work for the border and Arizona continues. As you know, he is now
co-chairing the Transportation and Trade Corridor Alliance, which is charged
with linking Arizona to the global economy by improving our state’s trade and
logistics offerings by identifying ways to increase the value of our trade
corridors.
We should
also recognize Congressman Matt Salmon, who has fully embraced his role as
chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House Committee on
Foreign Affairs. Congressman Salmon in December convened a hearing in Tucson
that was attended by Representatives Schweikert, Sinema and Barber where
US-Mexico trade was the main topic.
Arizona is
also home to the Arizona Mexico Commission. The Chamber commends Margie and the
AMC for being at the forefront of travel visa policy, trade promotion and
transportation. It is because of the AMC that the governors of Arizona and
Sonora have had a direct line of communication for over 50 years.
In just the
last few years, Arizona has dramatically stepped up its efforts to promote our
state’s outstanding business environment to the rest of the world. Mexico
figures prominently in that strategy. Sandra can discuss how the ACA, in
partnership with the AMC, has re-opened the once shuttered Arizona state office
in Hermosillo, Sonora, ensuring that once again Arizona has a presence in our
neighboring state’s largest city.
And now
we’ve learned of the partnership between Phoenix and the state to open a trade
office in Mexico City, which speaks to Hank’s and Mayor Stanton’s hard work.
Arizona leaders know that so much more can be done to grow the $6.3 billion in
goods Arizona exports to Mexico, $1.8 billion of which comes from the metro
Phoenix area. [6]
There are so
many positive things happening between Mexico and Arizona and our state leaders
are redoubling their efforts to forge closer ties with our southern neighbor.
Mexico finds itself in a unique period in its history that creates new
opportunities for Arizona. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto is a reformer
who understands that Mexico must embrace change if it is to assume its rightful
place as an economic power.
This is not
to say that challenges do not remain. While Arizona’s business community is
excited about the overhaul of the country’s major port for Mexican produce, the
Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, by improving its layout and capacity, we are
concerned about the staffing resources that will be deployed to the port.
I still
believe that 2014 can mark the passage of a package of immigration reform
bills. I am hopeful that legislation would look for opportunities to improve
the human resources devoted to our ports of entry, not just the areas between
our ports that are the responsibility of the Border Patrol. Adequate staffing
is so vitally important to reducing the miles-long backups of legitimate trade
into Mexico. The budget deal passed by Congress last month included funding for
2,000 new CBP officers slated for the nation’s busiest ports of entry is a
positive sign.
We also must
greatly improve our transportation links in the border region. Congress took a
positive first step by designating the highway between Las Vegas and Phoenix as
Interstate 11, an integral link in the so-called Canamex trade corridor linking
all three NAFTA nations, which will also connect the country’s two largest
metro areas not connected by an interstate. But we must also reduce the
bottlenecks that prevent freight from reaching the interstates in the first
place. Mariposa Rd., also known as Arizona 189, needs to be expanded or
reconfigured in such a way that trucks leaving the port of entry can bypass the
congestion of Nogales and head north on Interstate 19.
In a time of
tight federal and state budgets, we understand that there are no easy solutions
to the challenges of port staffing and transportation infrastructure, but
please know that you have a willing partner in Arizona’s business community in
addressing these challenges.
Once again,
on behalf of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I very much
appreciate the opportunity to be here today and I would be happy to take any
questions you might have.
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