Texas A&M University School of Law students joined Bush School of Government and Public Service students in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, as part of a year-long capstone project to study trade barriers in North America and the effects of “Buy America” legislation.

3L Charles Lincoln, 2L Jessica Lesnau, 2L Greg Franklin and 2L Michael Sankey represented the law school ​in Mexico. Eight students represented the Bush school. Executive Law Professor Bill Henning and Dr. Jeryl Mumpower, Professor and Head of the Public Service and Administration Department in College Station, are leading the North American Trade Barriers Capstone project.

The students were divided into two teams. One focused on non-tariff trade barriers and their effects on freight transportation within U.S. and at international borders, and the other focused on the effects of the Buy American Act, using cost-benefit analysis to understand how requirements of the Act and the other arguably pro-American legislation impact consumers and workers.

“The purpose of the trip was to permit the teams to meet with business and government leaders in the Mexican state of Guanajuato in order to get a Mexican perspective on the issues they’re researching,” Henning said. “It also gave them an opportunity to work together in person.”

The students also met with representatives from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to learn more about trade between Mexico and the United States. They toured Puerto Interiore, a manufacturing and export center, met with a major agricultural exporter and were provided with an overview of the booming Guanajuato economy by a representative of the state government, said Henning.

“The trip was a great success,” Henning said. “Everyone was enthusiastic.”

While in San Miguel de Allende, students and faculty from the Bush School and Law School stayed at Hacienda Santa Clara (HSC), a study abroad campus partnering with Texas A&M University. Many of the week’s activities, including the presentations and site visits, were coordinated by the HSC staff, who have a broad array of connections with the region’s cultural, business, and civic leaders.

This is the first time the law school has partnered with the Bush School for a capstone project. The law students are enrolled in a special topics course that meets during the same time and day as the Bush School capstone group. The students meet each week through teleconferencing and occasional joint meetings in both Fort Worth and College Station.

The Bush School contributed to this article.

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law