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U.S.-Mexico Binational CommissionReleased by the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, April 1997. |
The U.S.-Mexico Binational Commission (BNC) is a unique forum established by the two countries to allow for regular exchanges at the Cabinet level on a wide range of issues critical to U.S.-Mexico relations.
Development of the BNC
Presidents Carter and Lopez Portillo established the precursor to the BNC in May 1977 to provide better coordination of U.S.-Mexico relations. Then called the U.S.-Mexico Consultative Mechanism, it had three broad working groups--political, social, and economic--and subgroups within each of these. At the first meeting in May 1978, Secretary of State Vance and Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations Roel met in Mexico with the chairmen of the working groups to review the first year's progress.
In February 1979, the two presidents agreed to reorganize and strengthen the Consultative Mechanism. The working groups were realigned and broadened to provide an improved forum for discussion and understanding. The presidents later reaffirmed the Consultative Mechanism during their September 1979 meeting in Washington, DC.
The Binational Commission was established in 1981 by Presidents Reagan and Lopez Portillo to serve as a forum for meetings between Cabinet-level officials from both countries. The new BNC was envisioned as a simple, flexible tool that would meet once or twice annually, with counterparts exchanging an action agenda of topics requiring attention. One of the early, temporary action groups formed in November 1981, the Border Relations Action Group, met twice and carried out several on-site investigations and technical-level consultations and submitted recommendations to the two governments.
BNC Structure
This year's BNC meeting is the 14th since 1981. The meeting has become a one- or two-day conference chaired by the U.S. Secretary of State and the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations. Each delegation includes numerous Cabinet-level officials and other agency chiefs. Meeting in plenary sessions and working groups, they discuss a complex and diverse range of bilateral issues which have international and domestic impact.
The BNC currently has 15 working groups which reflect the political, economic, law enforcement, social and environmental issues forming the fabric of U.S.-Mexican relations. Nine working groups met at the 1989 BNC. Two additional groups, education and agriculture, were added in 1990. In 1991, working groups on housing and urban development and labor were added, bringing the total to 12. A transportation working group also met informally for the first time. The education working group was combined with the cultural affairs working group. For the 1993 BNC, transportation was added as a full-fledged working group, and a new science and technology subgroup was formed. The health and energy working groups were added at the 1996 BNC, and the Border Cooperation and Science and Technology subgroups were promoted to full working group status.
In preparing for the BNC, each group develops an agenda which serves as the basis of working group discussions. In some years, bilateral agreements are signed. The working groups continue to communicate throughout the intervening months between BNC meetings. Some working groups meet several times each year in addition to the formal BNC session, such as Migration and Consular Affairs, Science and Technology, and Health.
Contacts between the two governments at every level from staff to Cabinet officials have proliferated, partly as an outgrowth of the BNC. The approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has seen these contacts grow still closer and more frequent. The 1997 BNC meeting is the second to be held in Mexico since the December 1994 inauguration of Ernesto Zedillo as President of Mexico. The meeting offers an opportunity for both countries to review and strengthen the overall relationship.
Consultative Mechanism Meeting Dates:
May 1977
May 1978
BNC Meeting Dates:
November 1981
November 1982
April 1983
April 1984
July 1985
January 1987
August 1989
August 1990
September 1991
June 1993
May 1994
May 1995
May 1996
May 1997
BNC Working Groups:
Agriculture
Border Cooperation
Business Development, Fisheries, and Tourism
Education and Cultural Affairs
Energy
Environment and Natural Resources
Fiscal, Financial, and Customs Issues
Health
Housing and Urban Development
Labor
Legal Affairs and Anti-Narcotics Issues
Migration and Consular Affairs
Science and Technology
Trade and Investment
Transportation
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