Former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda, author of Ex Mex: From Migrants to Immigrants, played a firsthand role in attempts to forge a U.S.-Mexican immigration deal. He says reform could come in time, but U.S. leaders remain hesitant: "Who wants to take a leadership position on this and then get slammed in Iowa?"

A December deadline requiring Mexico to eliminate tariffs against Chinese products could bring more of the Asian giant’s goods to Mexican markets—and open doors for business cooperation. In a recent CNBC interview, AS/COA President Susan Segal discussed prospects for deepening Asian-Latin American relations.

Without comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level, U.S. states are now passing their own legislation. In the first of a series of U.S. immigration updates, AS/COA outlines how new state laws affect public benefits, employment, and identification.

Mexico risks running a deficit in 2008 if the fiscal reform bill is not approved, according to President Calderon. Beyond this priority, his administration continues to focus efforts on forging stronger ties across Latin America.

During an August summit of North American leaders in Canada, the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC)—a trilateral council of business leaders representing the private sectors of Canada, Mexico, and the United States—offered recommendations on border-crossing facilitation, standards and regulatory cooperation, and energy integration. To download the report, click here. For more about the NACC, click here.

Making Mexico a foreign policy priority can increase U.S. security and prosperity, write COA’s Eric Farnsworth and Monica Guevera in Latin Business Chronicle.

Just as the Mexican Senate was approving a groundbreaking federal pension reform law, the Americas Society and Council of the Americas (AS/COA) held its 2007 Mexico City Conference to look at Mexico’s role in the global economy. With over 180 private and public sector leaders in attendance, the conference, hosted in association with the Mexican Business Council of Foreign Trade Investment and Technology (COMCE), highlighted key reforms—including labor, energy, and fiscal reforms—to improve Mexico’s competitiveness.