Colorado Leaders Say NAFTA is Opportunity

Many have railed against NAFTA and its economic impact on US local and state economies. Colorado is saying just the opposite--that NAFTA is an opportunity for Colorado businesses and communities.

In June, Mexico became the Colorado's No. 2 trading partner behind Canada.

"By every measure, NAFTA has been good to Colorado and will continue to be good for Colorado," said Dan Griswold at the Center for Trade Policy Studies, Cato Institute, in Washington, D.C.

"NAFTA broke down some terribly high trade barriers in Mexico, which was really beneficial to states like Colorado with big agricultural sectors," he said.

Colorado companies from the well-known to the little-known are making inroads south of the border.

By the end of August, Colorado had exported $339 million worth of products to Mexico in 2003, up nearly 46 percent from $233 million in exports during the same period last year, according to the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

For consumers, the increasing business relationships are evident: Travelers now can fly to several Mexican destinations on Denver-based Frontier Airlines; Corona, Pacifico and Dos Equis beer bottles fill local liquor store shelves; and Bimbo bread, a Mexican favorite, is now available at area grocery stores.

"Metro Denver has evolved into a community of friendships between Hispanic business people and Anglos that is somewhat unusual in the West," said Tom Clark, president and CEO of the Metro Denver Network, a Chamber of Commerce economic-development group.

The state's business ties to Mexico go back more than a century, to the days of Pancho Villa, the rebel general of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century, Clark said.

Go here to read more.