US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hosts Leaders from Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP) countries at the Treasury Department in Washington, DC, on November 3, 2023.
Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Mexico City this week to strengthen economic ties with America’s top trading partner, the Treasury Department said Monday.
Yellen will meet with Mexican counterparts, including President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, from Dec. 5-7 on creating supply chains spanning the bordering nations to spur job growth and bolster economic security, according to a release.
Imports and exports between the U.S. and Mexico reached nearly $600 billion so far in 2023, per the International Trade Administration, and exceeded $850 billion in 2022, according to Treasury.
Direct investments between the nations include manufacturing, wholesale trade, real estate and finance and insurance, according to the U.S. Trade Representative.
Yellen’s trip corresponds with the Treasury’s launch of a Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force, to combat illicit trafficking of the deadly drug into the United States.
Last month, the department worked with its Mexican counterparts to sanction three Mexican individuals and 13 Mexican entities linked to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a prolific fentanyl trafficker.
The new strike force will “allow us to bring the department’s unrivaled expertise in fighting financial crime to bear against this deadly epidemic,” Yellen said in a statement.
The group’s creation follows an agreement between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last month to jointly curb access to the fentanyl precursor chemicals that Mexican cartels use to manufacture the drug, before sending it north for distribution in the U.S.
“Treasury will use every tool at its disposal to disrupt the ability of drug traffickers to peddle this poison in our country,” Yellen added.