Possible lower 'wall' for US-Mexico relations in diplomacy?

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‍‍"This decision is all the more difficult because of my profound belief in the importance of the US-Mexico relationship and knowledge that it is at a crucial moment," said US ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson.

The top US diplomat in Mexico, named by then-President Barak Obama in June 2015, will leave the embassy on Saturday.

Back in May 2016, Jacobson opened up about her diplomatic life in Mexico as the first woman to head the US embassy in Mexico, facing "intermestic" relationships between the two nations. Have the past two years seen any changes between the two sides? Should we have more expectations for the future of the two countries when the new US ambassador is appointed?

Who is Roberta Jacobson?

CGTN Photo

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and US-Mexico border

The two neighbors are split over several issues, such as cross border crimes, drug trafficking and illegal smuggling, but immigration and trade friction are the most serious.

All data above is for 2016. /CGTN Photo

"Mexico is doing very little, if not NOTHING, at stopping people from flowing into Mexico through their Southern Border, and then into the US. They laugh at our dumb immigration laws. They must stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA. NEED WALL!" US President Donald Trump tweeted.

US-Mexican Border Wall--unwise choice to stop illegal immigrants

The flags of Canada, Mexico and the US are seen on a lectern before a joint news conference on the closing of the seventh round of NAFTA talks in Mexico City, Mexico March 5, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Texas, Arizona announce troop deployments to border with Mexico

NAFTA, originally signed in 1994 by President Bill Clinton allows free trade between the three countries in North America. The three states have been renegotiating NAFTA since August 2017.

Rules of origin for the automotive sector and a sunset clause that would subject the deal to review every five years failed to reach a consensus

The three countries have held seven rounds of talks and closed six of some 30 chapters.

On the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, US Vice President Mike Pence and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said they thought an agreement could be reached before Mexican elections on July 1, although they also said no deadlines had been set.

Leftist front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. / Reuters Photo

In Mexico, leftist presidential frontrunner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to cut the country’s economic dependence on foreign powers and to put Trump “in his place.”

Trump says may tie Mexican immigration control to NAFTA

On January 25, 2017, the Trump administration signed a Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements Executive Order, 13767 to commence extending the border wall.

Pro-migrant caravan demonstrators rally on the Mexican side of the border wall on April 29, 2018 in San Diego, California. More than 300 immigrants, the remnants of a caravan of Central Americans that journeyed across Mexico to ask for asylum in the United States, have reached the border to apply for legal entry. /VCG Photo

Trump also claimed Mexico will pay for its construction, estimated at 8 to 12 billion dollars.

The former Mexican President Vicente Fox responded: "we're not paying for the f****** wall".

Who is next?

Rumors say Trump plans to nominate the former chairman and CEO of General Motors, Ed Whitacre as the next ambassador to Mexico, the Mexican newspaper Reforma reports.

Whitacre stepped down as CEO of GM in September 2010 and as chairman of the board in December 2010.

"Ed Whitacre will make an excellent ambassador to Mexico,” said Ramiro Cavazos, president and CEO of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “He believes in free trade, is a friend of the Latino business community and won’t pull any punches when it comes to doing the right thing in advancing US-Mexico relations.

Central American migrants traveling in the "Migrant Via Crucis" caravan wave as they enter the El Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on April 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

"He’s certainly contributed a lot to the community,” Father David Garcia, San Antonio’s Archdiocesan director of the Old Spanish Missions said, adding that while he’s not familiar with the day-to-day demands of the ambassador position, “I’m presuming that Ed has so many talents that he could probably do it very well.”

Richard Perez, San Antonio Chamber of Commerce CEO, said that Whitacre would be a strong pro-NAFTA voice in the administration

"I know Ed and he is a businessman’s businessman,” he added.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff also said that Whitacre was a strong backer of the original NAFTA.

GM chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre Jr. at the North American International Auto Show, January 11, 2010, Detroit, Michigan, USA. /VCG Photo

"He knows Mexico,” Wolff added. “He’s a supporter of NAFTA, which of course I certainly was when I was mayor at the time. So I think they would consider him a good friend of Mexico."

If nominated by Trump, and if Whitacre accepts, his appointment would have to be confirmed by the US Senate.