By Jim Walsh | East Valley Tribune
A simple chain link fence inside a vintage 1940s aircraft hangar in east Mesa marks a new boundary – and a vast opportunity – in trade and international relations.
To get an idea of how significant it is, a new stationary exercise bicycle recently on one side of the fence was considered inside the United States. Had it been on the other side, it might as well have been in Hermosillo, Mexico, its actual destination, even though the hangar has been at Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport since World War II.
The difference is that the bicycle had been “pre-cleared’’ by U.S and Mexican customs officers working together at the first and only federal Uniform Cargo Processing Center in the interior U.S.
