Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González / Texas Border Business
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Jorge Torres, president and CEO of Interlink Trade Services, will participate as a moderator at the upcoming Security and Prosperity in North America: Advancing Texas-Mexico Commerce and Cooperation conference, bringing his experience in international trade and cross-border commerce to a discussion focused on the future of the Texas-Mexico economic relationship.
The conference is scheduled for September 22, 2026, at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center in College Station. The Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University is presenting it.
Torres, a 1990 Texas A&M graduate, is scheduled to moderate Session 4: “Next Steps: Building a Thriving Texas-Mexico Economic Region,” from 3:40 to 4:55 p.m.
The session will feature Emilio Cadena, CEO of Prodensa and chairman of the board of the U.S.-Mexico Foundation, and Antonio Ortiz-Mena, adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Center for Latin America.
Their participation brings together perspectives from international business, economic development, public policy, and U.S.-Mexico relations for a conversation centered on strengthening one of North America’s most important economic relationships.
Torres’ role as moderator is particularly relevant to South Texas and the border region. As president and CEO of Interlink Trade Services, he has worked in the international trade and customs sector, giving him firsthand experience with moving goods between the United States and Mexico and the challenges and opportunities facing companies engaged in cross-border commerce.
The title of the session signals a forward-looking discussion. Rather than focusing solely on the size and importance of existing Texas-Mexico commerce, the panel will examine the next steps necessary to continue developing a thriving economic region connecting the two sides of the border.
The discussion comes at an important time for North American commerce as businesses and policymakers consider supply-chain competitiveness, investment, manufacturing, and the future of economic integration between the United States and Mexico.
Texas occupies a central position in that relationship. Its ports of entry serve as critical gateways for goods moving between the two countries, while border communities from the Rio Grande Valley to El Paso have become increasingly connected to manufacturing, logistics, and investment activity on both sides of the international boundary.
The conference’s theme, “Security and Prosperity in North America,” also reflects the connection between economic strength and cooperation among North American partners. Its emphasis on advancing Texas-Mexico commerce places the state’s relationship with Mexico at the center of that conversation.
For South Texas, discussions about the future of Texas-Mexico commerce have direct implications for international bridges, customs operations, logistics companies, manufacturers, industrial development, and communities whose economies are closely tied to cross-border activity.
Torres will guide Cadena and Ortiz-Mena through the Session 4 discussion as they examine what comes next in building a competitive Texas-Mexico economic region.
The conference will take place at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center, 1002 George Bush Drive West in College Station, on September 22.
