An audio interview with Glenn Hamer about the new Texas Leads Trade coalition

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Association of Business is launching a new coalition, Texas Leads Trade, to ensure Texas businesses have a strong voice in the upcoming US-Mexico-Canada Agreement renegotiations.

The Texas Leads Trade coalition will also advocate against tariffs and for improved infrastructure at border land ports of entry.

The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service broke the story about the formation of Texas Leads Trade through an exclusive telephone interview with TAB President Glenn Hamer.

“We’re trading more than ever with Mexico and Canada. The Texas economy is at the strongest point it has ever been and is gaining strength. And part of the reason it continues to gain strength is that we’re far and away the country’s top export leader,” Hamer said.

Hamer pointed out that with over $800 billion in annual trade, the Texas-Mexico border is a lifeline of the Texas economy. As discussions around USMCA heat up, Hamer said TAB will bring together business leaders, policymakers, and trade experts to protect and expand North American commerce.

Hamer provided the Guardian with some of the latest key trade statistics:

• Texas exports totaled over $444.6 billion in 2023, accounting for nearly 22 percent of all U.S. exports.
• In 2021, exports from Texas and American owned companies supported an estimated one million jobs.
• In 2023, Texas trade totaled $272 billion with Mexico and $71 billion with Canada, the state's top two trading partners.
• The Texas-Mexico border is the busiest trade gateway in North America, handling 68 percent of all trade between the United States and Mexico. This critical corridor facilitates $24 million in trade every hour.
• Texas ports of entry facilitated nearly $799 billion of US trade with Mexico in 2023.

Editor's Note: Here is an audio recording of the Guardian’s exclusive interview with Hamer: