Replies

Wisconsin gov. pushes for more trade, takes a spin

Stevenson Jacobs, The News Staff - 12/7/2001

Wisconsin Gov. Scott McCallum and President Vicente Fox met Thursday seeking to bridge their physical distance by strengthening political and economic ties.

McCallum arrived in Mexico City on Wednesday where he and a delegation of 30 state businessmen met with members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Jeffrey Davidow.

McCallum's Thursday agenda included a stop at a Harley Davidson store where the governor took one of the expensive motorcycles for a spin.

Harley Davidson's headquarters are based in Wisconsin.

McCallum on Thursday also met with Fox's Commerce Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez and Agriculture Secretary Javier Usabiaga. He called his meeting with Fox productive and said it symbolized how much closer Mexico and Wisconsin have grown over the years.

"Ten years ago, Mexico was our sixth largest trading partner; it was a long ways from Wisconsin," McCallum told The News during an interview.

Mexico is now the state's third largest export partner, buying 675 million dollars in goods and services in 2000. Over half of the state's exports to Mexico are industrial machinery and medical equipment. The state opened a trade office in Mexico City in 1994.

McCallum said he expects the numbers to keep growing and credited Fox's "aggressive approach" of reaching out to U.S. states as a key factor.

"There may be a tendency here to think of the United States as Texas, Arizona and California ... but there are some very high-quality products in other areas of the United States," said McCallum, a Republican who took office in February of this year.

McCallum and Fox first met In July when Fox traveled to Milwaukee to meet with members of the city's growing Mexican migrant community, many of whom work in the dairy and meat-packing industries.

McCallum said he and Fox talked about immigration reform and how the issue has changed following the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The governor voiced support for reform measures like legalization of migrants and temporary work visas but said heightened security concerns and an economic recession had put the issue "on the backburner."

Wisconsin is among the few U.S. states that issue driver's licenses and ID cards to undocumented migrants, and McCallum said his office was working on a program that would grant in-state college tuition to migrants who have been living in the state for an extended period of time and have attended public schools.

Over the weekend, the governor is to travel to the states of Queretaro and Guanajuato to meet with the states' respective governors and attend an agricultural trade show.