Changing the Mindset
Explains how the United States and Mexico negotiators were able to shift their approaches, taking a series of steps outside the typical inter-agency and diplomatic protocols. Building Trust by Sharing Information demonstrates the innovative data sharing ways the two sides relied on to exchange sensitive information, without giving up confidential components, which in turn empowered the two countries to get their energy, technical and political experts on the same page. Analyzing Precedents to Define a Roadmap illustrates how Mexico prepared for the negotiation process by evaluating international examples of transboundary hydrocarbon reservoir agreements, which allowed them to devise a set of alternatives for consideration. Switching From an Adversarial to a Mutual Gains Approach presents the genesis of the innovative suggestion by the lead U.S. negotiator to set up binational working group sessions, discarding the typical draft-counter-draft strategy that pervades and drags down so many diplomatic negotiations.