Exporters in Mexico are facing long queues of up to eight hours to cross the border into the United States. This is due to the activation of security protocols and documentation inspection in the city of Tijuana, in response to measures implemented by US President Donald Trump.
The protocols exclusively affect the export lane through which heavy cargo transport passes at the Otay border port. This situation has generated queues of up to 38 kilometers and traffic chaos in the surrounding areas. Israel Delgado Vallejo, vice president of the National Chamber of Cargo Transport (Canacar) in the northwest region of Mexico, explained that these actions are framed within security agreements at the border between Mexico and the U.S.
Amid exhaustive review measures, a new Digital Document Repository (Repadi) was implemented at the Unified Foreign Trade Window (Vuce) by Anam, with the aim of addressing contingencies at the border. Delgado pointed out that, while it is expected that the process will be more efficient in the future, failures in the system have complicated transit and generated chaos.
In light of the chaos and long queues, Delgado anticipated that the situation is temporary and part of a contingency phase during maintenance. The aim is to assess the impact that these actions will have on commercial flow. Regarding negotiations between Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Donald Trump, Delgado expressed concern over the possibility of a 25% tariff on Mexican products, which would severely affect the manufacturing industry and exports.
Although the time gained to respond to the agreements was celebrated, Delgado emphasized that the Mexican industry is attentive to the outcomes of these negotiations and trusts the negotiating team backing President Sheinbaum.
