SAN DIEGO, CA - Inspections for produce at the U.S./Mexican border is hopefully about to speed up thanks to new Mexican weapons legislation that allows both countries to work together in Tijuana.

“Previously, the Mexican constitution did not allow this to happen – this is a historic moment, for sure,” Paola Avila Gorostiza, Vice-President of International Business Affairs at the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, said, according to Fox 5 News.

Allowing American officials to have weapons lifts the final blockade for a Tijuana facility that could significantly expedite the inspection of produce on the border.

“You see that a truck may sometimes take three hours to cross [the border],” José Martín García, Representative for Mexico’s Tax and Customs Administration at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C., said, according to a report from UT San Diego. But last week's new legislation being passed by our southern neighbors will now reportedly allow inspection time per truck to cut down to as little as 25 minutes. 

This new inspection facility will allow officials from both sides to inspect tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, and other produce shipments from Mexico before being driven over to the U.S. The inspection team-up will reportedly kick off under a voluntary six-month pilot program that will be limited to high-volume and low-risk produce shipments.

According to UT San Diego, the U.S. will still maintain its right to re-inspect any shipment after it crosses, but this can still cut down the process of crossing and hopefully thin out the high-traffic Otay Mesa Port of Entry. Garcia reported that as of now over 200 trucks transport produce through the port on a daily basis.

“If we want increased trade, we cannot continue to run that trade through highly congested ports of entry and highly inefficient ports of entry,” Erik Lee, Executive Director of the North American Research Partnership, told UT San Diego.

Lee added that it is in the interest of American consumers to know what is being transported into the country before items even arrive, which will now be possible.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to follow this developing story.