A Mexican business coalition accused the United States of violating a 40-year-old environmental treaty by failing to assess the impact on air quality on Mexican border residents before closing a major freight crossing, according to a complaint made public Tuesday.
The complaint, filed with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), which oversees ecological issues in the United States, Mexico and Canada, argues that the decision will divert tens of thousands of trucks a year to neighborhoods that already suffer from high levels of pollution.
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The National Association of Importers and Exporters of the Mexican Republic Chihuahua Section filed the complaint under the USMCA trade agreement, alleging that the United States violated the 1983 La Paz Agreement requiring the evaluation of significant environmental impacts within 100 km of the border on both sides.
The May 2 decision by the U.S. General Services Administration will permanently close commercial operations on the Córdova-Américas Bridge, straddling the border of El Paso, Texas, and Juárez, Chihuahua, starting in May 2026, redirecting more than 40,000 annual truck crossings primarily to Zaragoza-Ysleta, 19 km away.
Zaragoza-Ysleta already supports 67% of the region’s commercial truck traffic, and the petition alleges that the additional vehicles will significantly increase pollution in the densely populated Mexican neighborhoods south of the intersection.
The petitioners allege that the US environmental study did not take into account transboundary impacts, even though the bilateral treaty requires both countries to evaluate and mitigate significant environmental effects in the 100 km border zone.
With information from Reuters.
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