CLINTON, ZEDILLO TO DISCUSS ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS

MERIDA, Mexico, Feb 15 (Reuters) - With the fight to stem illegal drugs
looming over a summit between U.S. President Bill Clinton and Mexican
President Ernesto Zedillo, negotiators for both sides have reached
agreement on ways to measure progress in the drug war, U.S. officials said.

Clinton, who survived a threat to his presidency when the U.S. Senate on
Friday rejected two articles of impeachment against him, arrived on Sunday
for talks both sides said would focus primarily on such issues as trade and
the environment.

The plan for the summit agenda was dashed by a looming March 1 deadline on
the sensitive drug certification issue.

Clinton must certify to the U.S. Congress whether Mexico -- along with some
30 other countries -- has cooperated fully with efforts to stop the flow of
narcotics into the United States. Failure to certify the countries would
result in a cutoff of trade and economic benefits.

U.S. officials said the Clinton and Zedillo talks on Monday at Hacienda
Temozon, some 22 miles (36 km) north of the Yucatan Peninsula city of
Merida, would end with an announcement that both sides have reached
agreement on how best to measure the success of the anti-drug efforts.

The two men dined together on Sunday night and had an informal discussion
before their talks on Monday.

The U.S. officials said the accord would cite "benchmarks" to assess the
effectiveness of drug efforts, such as the number of arrests and
convictions of drug dealers.

U.S. officials estimate that two-thirds of Colombian cocaine reaching U.S.
streets crosses Mexican territory, and they note that Mexico is also a
major producer of marijuana, opium and amphetamines.

Although U.S. officials privately say they expect Clinton will certify that
Mexico has cooperated in the drug war, he is likely to face serious
opposition in the U.S. Congress.

A growing number of critics in Washington claim the Mexicans have not been
aggressive enough in rounding up suspects and in purging their legal system
of corrupt officials who shield drug operators.

If Clinton did not declare Mexico to be an ally in the war on drugs, the
United States would have to cut off all economic and trade benefits to the
country. U.S. officials point out that Mexico has now become the second
largest market for U.S. goods -- behind only Canada.

Mexico insists it has made a good faith effort to address the problems of
the drug trade, and at times has bristled at Washington's efforts to force
its will on its southern neighbour.

Mexico's U.S. critics "ignore that the growth in drug trafficking is a
product of the booming market represented by the millions of addicts living
in U.S. territory," Mexico City's El Universal daily said in a weekend
editorial.

Among the other agreements that were to be signed on Monday:

- -- Officials of the U.S. Export-Import Bank will agree to provide $4
billion in loans and loan guarantees to the Mexican government and
corporations over two years to allow them to purchase U.S. goods.

One U.S. official said the action by the ExIm Bank would generate jobs in
the United States while helping Mexico obtain goods it needs. "This is good
for everyone," he said.

- -- Both governments will liberalise air traffic between the two countries
in order to make it easier for business travelers and tourists to reach
more destinations.

- -- The United States also will agree to provide training and technical
assistance to Mexico to aid its fight against illegal drugs. Washington
also will provide $1.2 million in assistance to help environmental efforts
to curb forest and grassland fires like the ones that devastated large
sections of Mexico last year.