The U.S.-Mexico partnership is central to securing our shared border, advancing economic growth, and expanding markets for U.S. businesses – all pillars of the President’s 2017 National Security Strategy. It is a partnership driven more by strategic interests than development factors in support of the countries’ mutual interests and shared priorities. Mexico shares strong economic and diplomatic ties with the U.S. and demonstrates high levels of commitment and capacity. Despite Mexico’s advanced self-reliance status, critical security and economic challenges persist including high rates of violent crime, impunity, corruption, and an uncertain business environment. In collaboration with other U.S. government agencies, USAID supports the Government of Mexico (GOM) in addressing these chronic structural challenges with the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) goal of “U.S.-Mexico Strategic Partnership Advanced through Mutual Security and Prosperity.”

From 2020-2025, USAID will deepen the strategic partnership with Mexico by targeting state and local governments which exhibit the capacity and commitment to address impunity and violence, while strengthening the bilateral economic alliance. USAID assistance will help reduce impunity, crime, and violence by constraining the operational space for organized crime in targeted areas. This will be done through facilitating the scaling of evidence-informed approaches by the GOM, while collaborating with Mexican counterparts to advance our shared agenda. Further, USAID will increase both U.S. and Mexican investment in sustainable value chains and improve business transparency, thereby strengthening the competitive business environment. This approach is critical to address shared security challenges and promote closer U.S.-Mexico economic cooperation.

Mexico is among USAID’s most self-reliant partner countries, the world’s 15th largest economy, and a functioning liberal democracy with high levels of capacity. In USAID’s 2020 Country Roadmap, Mexico exhibits high levels of commitment to trade freedom, business environment, and biodiversity and habitat protection. It scores high in its capacity related to child health, civil society and media effectiveness, and export sophistication.

USAID selected the CDCS Goal of “U.S.-Mexico Strategic Partnership Advanced through Mutual Security and Prosperity” to accentuate that this is a relationship of peers, not of a donor and a recipient, focused on challenges of strategic interest and mutual benefit to both countries, where burden-sharing is evident and foreign assistance can add value.