Texas Border Business
AUSTIN, Texas –Last week, the Texas Association of Business (TAB) hosted its first Texas-Mexico Working Group meeting with leading business organizations from Mexico to discuss binational commercial collaboration between the private sectors.
The two-day meeting series included TAB President and CEO Glenn Hamer, Rolando Pablos, TAB Board Member and Chair, Mexico Trade & Investment Policy Council, Shirley Temple of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Luis Torres and Armida Rojas of the Dallas Federal Reserve, Gerry Schwebel of IBC Bank, and James Taylor of the State of Texas Mexico Office. The discussions focused on enhancing economic exchange, boosting trade, and improving competitiveness factors in Texas and Mexico.
This collaborative effort within the private sector emphasizes the significance of binational cooperation in driving economic and social advancement, aiming to consolidate our region as the world’s most competitive.
In August 2023, TAB signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the top Mexican business organizations to enhance regional competitiveness and advance trade, investment, infrastructure, talent, and the overall economic framework.
TAB President and CEO of TAB Glenn Hamer emphasized: “Trade is good. We discussed ways to strengthen the trading relationship with Mexico — now the top trading partner of the US — and far and away the number one trading partner for Texas. We all agreed on the need to continue and build on the landmark USMCA while offering practical solutions to migration issues, which increase security and much-needed legal workforce flows in the world’s most important trading bloc. All of this work is even more important as we realize our mutual desire to accelerate nearshoring and building products together in our region.”
“Texas is the centerpiece of the North American economy, and our relationship with Mexico is key to leveraging our unique position to support the growth of our world-class businesses that rely on robust and efficient cross-border commerce,” said Rolando Pablos, former Texas Secretary of State and Chairman of TAB’s Mexico Trade and Investment Council. “As more businesses look to bring their operations and supply lines from Asia and toward North America, it is critical we continue to collaborate with our partners in Mexico to maximize investment and economic opportunity to help supercharge the Texas economy within the broader Texas-Mexico economic trade bloc.”
“Nearshoring represents a historical opportunity for Mexico and Texas to elevate themselves to a global competitive hub by enhancing investment, bolstering infrastructure, and expanding trade through collaborative efforts within the private sector,” said José Manuel Bulás, Vice President of the Legislative Liaison Committee from the Mexican Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN). “To turn the nearshoring idea into reality, the private sector has crafted a strategic plan to foster crucial business dialogues, facilitating bilateral trade, enhancing infrastructure, aligning regulations, and boosting investment.”
In addition to TAB, the following Mexican business organizations participated in this week’s working meetings:
- Confederación de Cámaras Industriales de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (CONCAMIN), represented by José Manuel Bulás
- Consejo Coordinador Empresarial (CCE), represented by Jorge Juraidini
- Consejo Empresarial Mexicano de Comercio Exterior, Inversión y Tecnología (COMCE), represented by Juan Pablo Cervantes
- Cámara de la Industria de Transformación de Nuevo León (CAINTRA NL), represented by Juan Pablo García
- Consejo Empresarial Mexicano de Comercio Exterior, Inversión y Tecnología (COMCE Noreste), represented by Andrés Franco
- Consejo Nacional de la Industria Maquiladora y Manufacturera de Exportación (INDEX Nacional), represented by Humberto Martínez
