The BIMP is also involved in practical daily issues; I was just thinking the other day of all the issues we’ve dealt with in the last year, and it’s pretty impressive! We’ve negotiated a reduction in the syndication fees—for drivers bringing product into the United States from Mexico; we’ve gotten the FDA to double the number of inspectors, from four to eight, at the Pharr-Reynosa Bridge (Texas’ primary port of entry), and to reverse the decision to reduce overtime weekend coverage. We have also attracted an independent food safety lab to the Rio Grande Valley—a big issue—because the FDA has historically and chronically had a lack of lab capacity to do their job properly.
Another big deal is the USDA bringing in a new insect identifier at the Pharr-Reynosa Bridge. You would be amazed at how much difference it can make, because as more and more product comes in, you get bugs CBP agents don’t recognize and they must be identified before product can come into the United States. Doing this without an insect identifier on-site is very difficult; they’ve been getting around it by using an identifier two states away, but it’s a very slow process—so this is a major accomplishment.
At the same time, we’ve gotten APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, part of the USDA) and the CBP to ramp up the Cargo Release Authority program, which means Customs personnel can be cross-trained to do some of the insect identification [for] increased efficiency in moving product through the entry points.
At the state level, Texas has agreed to changes in overweight permit regulations. Traditionally, trucks in Mexico have been able to carry considerably more weight than U.S. trucks, and now they will be able to do so when they cross the border without penalty (in certain limited areas) by buying a permit.
The BIMP also weighed in heavily on the Tomato Suspension Agreement and we have worked with the FDA and other agencies on a number of health and safety issues, some of which are still pending or in draft form. An ongoing mandate is to work with the federal government to figure out how to make these things happen, even without the ideal level of funding or resources we would like to have.
Other examples include pesticide residue on limes. This may seem esoteric, but we import more limes through Texas than we grow oranges and grapefruits combined! Most of the limes consumed in the United States now are coming from Mexico—with very little coming from Florida or California.
Per capita lime consumption is increasing, but it’s almost all coming from Mexico, so it’s a bigger issue than it might seem. Another issue concerns salmonella on papayas, so we’ve been working closely with federal agencies to deal with it before it can cause too many problems.
We also work with the Mexican government on imports and other issues on their side of the border, and work closely with agencies like the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Devel-opment, Fishing and Food (SAGARPA) and the National Service of Food and Agriculture, Health, Safety, and Quality’s Agriculture Health Inspection Office (SENASICA).
In general terms, we work as a liaison between private industry and government on both sides of the border to help companies (with good histories) get products to the market more quickly. These are all things that fall under BIMP’s responsibility.
