THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

Mexico, World Bank Sign $4 Billion Environmental Agreement

• "This is the first of what I expect will be a long series of actions," Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen stated yesterday, "to deal with the critical subject of strengthening environmental protections both in Mexico generally and along the border in particular." Secretary Bentsen looked on as the Government of Mexico and the World Bank signed an agreement which would direct $4 billion to the enforcement of Mexico's environmental laws, and improving environmental conditions along the border. The World Bank pledged $1.8 billion in loans over the next three years, with the Mexican Government committing matching funds of $2.2 billion (matching both World Bank and Inter- American Development Bank commitments).
• The new program will support two sets of initiatives. First, assistance will be provided to regions of Mexico where an integrated, comprehensive effort on a range of environmental problems is needed. One such region is the border with the U.S. Secondly, specific sectors -- water supply, solid waste management, toxic waste control, natural resource management and biodiversity protection -- will be improved.
• Mexico's border with the U.S. will be among the first areas to receive attention. The first step in this process is a proposed project for which the World Bank would provide approximately $350 million with an additional $350 million provided by the Mexican Government. It would support investment in environmental infrastructure and strengthening of Mexico's environmental institutions while concentrating on the 14 sister cities along the border. Funding would include improvements in water supply and sanitation coverage, financing the closing of illegal solid waste dump sites, as well as the construction of solid waste recycling and disposal facilities.
• Mexican Finance Minister Pedro Aspe committed the Mexican Government "to build a pipeline of projects that in three years will represent $1.8 billion in loans from the World Bank. Adding up the Mexican matching funds, we will be able to allocate around $4 billion to these environmental projects." The Mexican Government has pledged to match dollar-for-dollar any multilateral development bank funds.

NAFTA Fact

• The market for environmental products and services in Mexico was estimated at approximately $1.1 billion in 1992, more than 200 percent larger than in 1986. The market is expected to expand at an average of 20 percent a year from 1992 to 1994 to approximately $1.5 billion -- providing thousands of jobs for U.S. workers in one of the core industries of the 21st century.