*  *  *  Thank you for inviting me to participate in the 2014 Southwest Economic Summit, devoted to the discussion of the economic effects of international trade. This conference is timely as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of NAFTA, an accord that has yielded significant benefits to each of the three member countries.
Being a developing nation, Mexico in particular has gained from the opening of the economy and NAFTA, in terms of higher consumer wellbeing, output expansion and efficiency, among other benefits. Yet, in spite of more dynamic foreign trade, the country’s economic performance during the last three decades has been far from satisfactory.