The foreign affairs secretary expressed concern over border delays in a diplomatic note to the United States embassy on Friday.

Marcelo Ebrard urged the U.S. government to hasten the movement of border traffic that has been slowed by measures and threats by President Donald Trump.

Wait times for truck traffic heading north spiked earlier this month when shipping companies began sending more cargo in response to Trump’s threats to close the border.

In addition, the reassignment of border agents to deal with migrants left insufficient personnel at international border crossings, creating bottlenecks.

The diplomatic note, which Ebrard posted to his Twitter account on Saturday, said the delays have generated losses of up to US $170 million in the cities of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.

The note said it was urgent that U.S. authorities accelerate the movement of traffic, while at the same time guaranteeing the efficiency and security of the border.

Trade between Mexico and the U.S. continues to grow. During the first quarter, Mexico became the latter’s biggest trading partner for the first time in history as a result of the U.S.-China trade war.

Goods from Mexico are partially filling the gap left by the absence of Chinese goods that have been affected by the dispute.

Trade in goods between the two countries rose to US $102 billion from January through March, 14.8% of total U.S. trade, and an increase of 5.48% over last year.

Source: El Financiero (sp)