Lea Marquez Peterson, president of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, November 2017.
The impact of cross-border trade on communities like Tucson were at the center of talks at a binational summit that brought together politicians and representatives of the business communities from both sides of the border.
Lea Marquez-Peterson, president of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said the issues discussed at the Arizona-Mexico Commission Summit — which took place in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, over the weekend — directly affect thousands of jobs in Arizona.
"People are surprised to learn that more than 110,000 jobs throughout the state of Arizona rely on trade with Mexico, specifically," Marquez-Peterson told Arizona Public Media in an interview prior to the summit.
She says border communities like Nogales depend on many industries that are built around trade with Mexico.
"In Douglas, [trade] is very dependent on retail industries and the community across the border, which is called Agua Prieta there." She said.
Since President Trump took office, five meetings have taken place in both Washington, D.C., and Mexico to discuss renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.
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