By Anastasiia Kozlova

March 18 (Reuters) - Swiss logistics group Kuehne und

Nagel said on Tuesday it would open a new road

logistics facility in Texas, close to the Mexican border, to

meet growing demand for customs support between the United

States and Mexico.

Earlier in March, U.S. President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on

all imports from Mexico and Canada, then offered a month-long

reprieve on goods that comply with the USMCA, a regional trade

agreement.

When asked by Reuters if the move to open the site was

linked to Trump's increasingly protectionist trade policies,

Kuehne und Nagel said it was not directly related.

It added, however, that the new site in Laredo, Texas, would

help address the increased need for cross-docking and customs

brokerage at the U.S.-Mexican border. Cross-docking is the

practice of delivering goods directly to a customer without

storage.

Kuehne und Nagel said the site would help customers navigate the

complexities of "near-shoring", which is when companies

manufacture or source products sold in the U.S. closer to home

to speed up deliveries, cut costs and avoid trade issues that

have plagued global supply chains in recent years.

Retailers and consumer goods companies such as Walmart ( WMT )

and Nestle, for instance, have shifted to more

near-shoring.

The new site will be fully operational from mid-April.