Hillary Clinton Says US-Mexico Trade Is Key To Recovery

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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that the global financial crisis has highlighted the links between the economies of the U.S. and Mexico, and that trade should help lift the countries out of recession.

"If there was any doubt before, there should be none now," Clinton said during an official visit to Mexico. "We rise and fall together."

Mexico - which sends 80% of its exports to the U.S. and also depends heavily on its northern neighbor for tourism and business investment - began to show signs of a faltering economy in the second half of last year as growth in the U.S. ground to a halt.

The Mexican economy is also expected to suffer a sharp contraction this year. Industrial production kicked off 2009 with an 11.1% year-on-year drop in January, its sharpest since 1995, while imports and exports fell by about 30% in the first two months of the year.

Clinton said U.S. President Barack Obama has set aside $720 million to modernize and streamline border crossings in order to encourage "legal trade and travel."

"We know that commerce between our nations is and will be a crucial part of our economic recovery," she said.

Clinton's comments come after the U.S. government canceled funding for a bilateral cross-border trucking program, prompting Mexico to respond with retaliatory import tariffs on 90 U.S. goods.

Washington has promised to come up with a new program allowing Mexican truckers to enter the U.S. that takes into account the safety concerns of the program's opponents.

Obama plans to make his first official visit to Mexico as the U.S. head of state in mid-April.