It's not part of my department, but I'm very pleased to respond to the question.
With respect to CETA, the decision with respect to the Czech Republic is self-evident. Obviously, we have to get all of the 28 members of the European Union to ratify the deal. And this has been an irritant. I wouldn't say it's a significant or a major irritant, but this has been an irritant, both for those two or three countries and for the folks in Brussels. So we're seeking to resolve that.
In the list—I believe it was in February or March—of the first 10 countries under the first piece of reform to refugee determination, we listed Mexico. Once the two pieces of legislation are fully implemented, the first of which passed before 2011 and is currently being implemented, and the second of which passed after 2011 in this Parliament, we would hope that there would be space to be able to review the visa requirements.
The concern I have is any thought by the Mexican public or Mexican leaders as to our motivations for putting in the visa requirement—that it has anything to do with Mexico or that it was something the United States requested us to do, or we did it because of concerns with respect to crime. It was just the volume of refugee claimants that we were getting and there was such a small percentage that were deemed to be valid, or the high percentage that were deemed to be...and just abandoned. The costs in that regard were exorbitant.
I know that my counterpart, Secretary Meade, and I, as well the Prime Minister and President Peña, had good conversations with Mexico, and I look forward to the day when we can eliminate that requirement. I don't have a particular day that I can offer, but I can say it's a priority.
Mexico is a huge economy, not just as part of NAFTA but also independently. I think in our lifetime it will be a G-10 economy and maybe even better than that. We have substantial interest.... It's our third biggest trading partner, it's an important political relationship for us, as well as in trade and commerce.