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On Tuesday, officials from Kansas City, Mo., and Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, signed a cooperative agreement at a reception hosted by Kansas City Southern. The cities agreed to establish a new trans-Pacific trade corridor to alleviate delays and congestion at West Coast ports, and promote trade growth between the U.S. Midwest and Mexico.

Under the agreement, Kansas City and Lázaro Cárdenas will jointly fund a neutral marketing campaign designed to attract trans-Pacific traffic between the cities’ ports, promote in-bond transfers between the cities’ Foreign Trade Zones, and promote the development and deployment of security tracing and tracking systems along the U.S. Midwest-to-Mexico corridor.

"In terms of opening the Midwest to Asian trade through Mexican ports, this agreement signifies substantial completion of [some] extensive efforts over the past several years," said Alfred Figuly, president of the greater Kansas City Foreign Trade Zone, in a prepared statement.