Chihuahua governor reaches deal with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over cross-border trade slowdown in El Paso

Chihuahua state governor Maria Eugenia "Maru" Campos has struck a deal with Gov. Greg Abbott that resolves a massive slowdown in cross-border commerce that followed Abbott's decision to increase state inspections of trucks.

In a joint news conference Thursday evening, Campos and Abbott announced the agreement after a meeting in Austin.

Abbott said Campos presented "the best border security plan that I have seen from any governor of Mexico."

Campos said Chihuahua would collaborate with the Texas Department of Public Safety, and Abbott said state troopers could now return to random inspections at the Texas border.

Abbott said, "as a result, the effect will be, the bridge between Chihuahua and Texas will return to normal immediately."

Abbott emphasized Chihuahua officials will work to reduce illegal immigration from Mexico into Texas.

"Chihuahua is doing more than just talking about this," Abbott said. "They have an organized game plan to step up and address illegal immigration from Chihuahua into Texas."

Campos shared with Abbott an outline of her border security measures, which includes moving the headquarters of the state public security agency to Juárez.

The agreement is expected to return the flow of trade to normal at two El Paso bridges that process commerce, the Ysleta-Zaragoza bridge and Bridge of the Americas.

The governors' discussion follows an accord reached Wednesday between Abbott and Nuevo León Governor Samuel Alejandro García Sepúlveda, in which the Mexican governor agreed to increase safety inspections of trucks on the Mexican side.

Cross-border commerce plunged last week after Abbott ordered increased state inspections of commercial vehicles after those vehicles had cleared U.S. customs. El Paso's Ysleta-Zaragoza bridge saw a 50% drop in commercial traffic, while commerce at the Bridge of the Americas fell by nearly a third, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Wait times skyrocketed.

"We were hoping that our governor would fix this situation yesterday," said Manuel Sotelo, vice president for the northern region of CANACAR, Mexico's national chamber for cargo transport, and president of a truckers association in Juárez.

Sotelo challenged the idea that the stepped-up state inspections are about border security.

"It's impossible to think that we would attempt to cross a person inside a truck," he said. "This problem is a political issue. It's not about border security. The trailers that are filled with migrants in Texas don't cross the border."

Beto O'Rourke: Texans aren’t buying it

Abbott's opponent in November, Beto O'Rourke, said the governor's deal was only a solution to problems he created. He released a statement Thursday afternoon.

"Abbott is the arsonist who torched the Texas economy by shutting down trade with Mexico to score cheap political points," O'Rourke said. "He’s responsible for the inflation it’s caused and the businesses he’s hurt. Now he wants credit for putting out the fire by announcing these ridiculous 'security agreements.' Texans aren’t buying it and we'll never forget the chaos Abbott has caused to our economy and our border communities."

El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser described the cross-border trade slowdown a "devastating blow" to the Texas economy.

“The efficient flow of trade on the U.S.-Mexico border isn’t only critical to Texas, but to the entire United States," Leeser said in a statement Thursday. "Any delays will continue to burden the supply-chain issues our country is already facing, and affect our state and nation economically in a negative manner."

"The number of commercial trucks that have been able to cross is down an estimated 55% to 90% over the last three days. That is a devastating blow, and effectively has made the cost of doing business in Texas much higher.”

More: Border agencies, truckers, leaders blast 'unnecessary' increased inspections stymying commerce

Products, parts 'are not moving'

Nick Delgado, president and owner of Quality Food and Veg, one of El Paso’s largest produce distributors, said truck traffic began flowing more normally Thursday at ports of entry in Pharr and McAllen, Texas, and other areas because, he said, truck inspections by Texas law enforcement were ending.

“Trucks are getting across and getting unloaded” at warehouses near the ports and being transferred to other trucks that bring the produce to El Paso, he said.

“This is great news for us,” Delgado said. “This will help us get caught up in about two or three days” for orders going to grocery stores, restaurants and other customers, he said.

However, long truck lines and extremely long waits for trucks to cross ports in the El Paso area were still causing headaches Thursday for trucking companies and maquila, or factory, operators in Mexico, said Alan Russell, CEO of El Paso’s Tecma Group of Companies. Tecma operates about 35 maquiladoras, or factories, in Juárez, and operates a trucking company.

Russell said he’s hopeful the extra Texas inspections will end soon.

“There’s no reason for the extra inspections. The CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) does a great job,” Russell said.

“If the (Texas) inspections stopped now, it probably would take 48 hours to get back to a normal flow,” he said Thursday afternoon.

Conditions are better than earlier in the week when ports in the El Paso area were blocked by so-called protesters, he said. But waits remained extremely long Thursday, he said.

Trucks were taking seven to 13 hours Thursday to cross from Mexico through the Zaragoza and Bridge of the Americas ports, compared to an average of about three hours without the extra Texas inspections, he said.

At the Santa Teresa, New Mexico port, near El Paso’s West Side, truck crossings from Mexico were taking about four to five hours, compared about 30 minutes under more-normal conditions, Russell said.

Tecma uses the Santa Teresa port to ship products and parts from its Juarez factories, he said. Many trucking companies shifted to the New Mexico port because of the extreme waits at other ports, he said.

“Our clients are suffering because products and parts are not moving” quickly enough, Russell said.

“There’s not a lot of slack in the supply chain” because of problems caused by the pandemic, he said. “There’s not a lot of extra inventory. That has a direct impact on factories in the U.S., waiting for parts.”

High-security certifications

Many trucking companies already jump through numerous hoops for special certifications required to move cargo quickly across the border.

Thousands of U.S. and Mexico carriers boast a U.S. federal certification known as CTPAT, or Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. It's a coveted certification that requires end-to-end supply chain security measures that begin with risk assessments and conclude with a bevy of operational requirements including driver background checks, guards at loading docks, security cameras and GPS tracking of cargo trucks among other measures.

"When an entity joins CTPAT, an agreement is made to work with CBP to protect the supply chain, identify security gaps, and implement specific security measures and best practices," according to CBP. "Applicants must address a broad range of security topics and present security profiles that list action plans to align security throughout the supply chain."

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Another is the Free and Secure Trade, or FAST program, a trusted shipper program that allows expedited processing for commercial carriers who have completed background checks and fulfill certain eligibility requirements, according to CBP.

There are about 18,000 FAST-enrolled trucks on the southern border, according to CBP.

About 45% of trucking companies in Juárez qualify for the CTPAT, Sotelo said, as well as for a similar certification on the Mexican side.

El Paso Times reporter Vic Kolenc contributed to this report.

Lauren Villagran can be reached at lvillagran@elpasotimes.com.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Greg Abbot, Chihuahua governor reaches deal over trucks inspections