CEC Receives a Submission Regarding the Bridge of the Americas (BOTA) on the US-Mexico Border
Tiohtià:ke (Montreal), 9 December 2025—On 4 December, an individual from Mexico and the Asociación Nacional de Importadores y Exportadores de la República Mexicana (National Association of Importers and Exporters of the Mexican Republic), an organization based in Mexico, (the “Submitters”), filed a submission under Chapter 24 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA/CUSMA) with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The Submitters assert that the United States is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law by failing to analyze the environmental impacts of its decision to permanently close all commercial cargo operations at the Cordova–Americas International Bridge (BOTA) at the US-Mexico border in the city of Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and city of El Paso, Texas, United States.
The submission asserts that this decision, formalized in a Record of Decision and analyzed in an Environmental Impact Statement, will disproportionately increase cargo traffic and air pollution in the area south of the Zaragoza–Ysleta crossing, home to thousands of Mexican residents in the city of Juárez. The Submitters argue that by failing to evaluate impacts on air quality on the Mexican side of the border, the US violated its obligations under the 1983 La Paz Agreement, which requires both countries to assess significant environmental impacts in the border zone (100 km on each side) and consider mitigation measures.
The Secretariat will review the submission and determine, within 30 days, whether it meets the requirements of USMCA/CUSMA Article 24.27(1), paragraphs (1), (2) and (3). To learn more, please consult the registry page for the submission SEM-25-002 (Bridge of the Americas-BOTA).
The CEC SEM Process
The CEC Submissions on Enforcement Matters process supports public participation, information-sharing between governments and the public, and transparency and openness in the effective enforcement of environmental law in North America. If you have reason to believe that an environmental law is not being effectively enforced by Canada, Mexico or the United States, the SEM process may address your concerns.
As of 1 July 2020, the CEC’s SEM process is governed by USMCA Articles 24.27 and 24.28 of the Environment Chapter of the free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States (CUSMA, T-MEC, USMCA).
Want to learn more about the SEM process? Please watch this two-minute video for an introduction: