Driving Economic Prosperity
With thousands of trucks crossing border daily,
NAFTA turns Texas city into a shipping metropolis
BY ED LAVANDERA/ CNN
LAREDO, Texas (CNN) -- In the dusty, wide-open borderland of South Texas
business is booming. At the heart of the economic bonanza is the city of
Laredo. Almost every business and industry in Laredo were born of
international trade, but none more so than trucking.
Some people in Laredo say the strength of the economy can be measured by the
number of trucks carrying merchandise across the border. About 10,000 trucks
cross the border every day, the U.S. Customs Service and the city of Laredo
report. About 38 percent of the ground trade that crosses between the United
States and Mexico every year comes through Laredo, according to a study by
the U.S. Commerce Department and Texas A&M University.
The town that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) built has a
population of about 200,000 people, but its sister city across the border,
Nuevo Laredo, has a population of 650,000 people.
What is it like to do business in a border town? Is there a downside to the
unprecedented prosperity? And what are the prospects for the future?
Watch Ed Lavandera's complete video report Friday, June 8 on CNN.
Get the Magazine — Try 4 Issues Free
|
