AUSTIN, Texas - The United States needs a strong Mexico and Canada in order to compete economically against China and the rest of the world.
This is the view of Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business.
Hamer was a panelist at a Brownsville Day at the Capitol discussion hosted by the Mexico Consul General in Austin. In a segment focused on cross border trade, Hamer said:
“The trading relationship between Texas and Mexico is now about $270 billion a year. Two-way trade. It is also important to say, because we have more ports of entry than any other state by far, that about 80 percent of the goods that come from Mexico into the United States cross through our ports. That's a huge number. So, 80 percent of that total trade, which is about $800 billion. And if we strengthen the USMCA, we can get to a trillion. And why this is so important,” Hamer said.
USMCA stands for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
“If you think about the great power competition between the United States and China, we need a strong Mexico and a strong Canada to compete against China and other regions of the world. We build things together, juntos. So, we need the strongest possible trading relationship. In our view, it's a win, win, win. It is something that benefits all sectors of the economy, whether it's space, aerospace, auto, manufacturing, tourism, healthcare, agriculture.”
Hamer said the U.S., Mexico, and Canada need to work together on all the difficult issues, including undocumented immigration. He said Mexico deserves a lot of credit for its work on immigration.
“Mexico is a big reason why those numbers have plummeted,” Hamer said. “Mexico's economic development plan wasn't to have millions of people from all over the world, including China, including Africa, cross through the Darién Gap, to go through Mexico to reach the United States. So, we all have a mutual interest, Canada, United States and Mexico. And we all have a mutual interest to stop fentanyl. And we're all doing that.”
But on the trade side of the equation, Hamer said it is important to keep North America tariff-free.
“That's good for Texas. That's good for the United States, and it's the only way we could effectively compete with China, the way these supply chains are set up. So, just to be very clear, we do not want to see tariffs on our friends, Mexico or Canada. And in fact, we want to find good ways to reduce non-tariff barriers. And some of this conversation about education gets to those points. Texas wins with trade with Mexico and Canada, and we want to do more (to achieve) more prosperity.”
Antonio “Tony” Rodriguez, director of cargo services and business development for the Brownsville Navigation District, was also on the panel.
“Right now, the eyes are on South Texas,” Rodriguez said, referencing the expansion of SpaceX’s Boca Chica rocket launching facility and the building of liquefied natural gas export terminals at the Port of Brownsville.
Rodriguez said Maricela Cortez, a community outreach specialist at SpaceX had told him of her company’s expansion plans. “She's about to hire another 1,000 people by the end of the year,” he said.
Meanwhile, NextDecade, which is building one of the LNG terminals at the port, is adding another 2,000 workers to its existing labor pool of 3,800, Rodriguez said.
“The stars are finally lined up for us,” Rodriguez said. “We’re excited for what's about to happen in the next 24 months.”
The moderator of the panel discussion was Esmy Villarreal, president and CEO of the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce. The chamber organized Brownsville Day at the Capitol.
Editor's Note: Here is Part Two of a four-part video series on the panel discussion hosted by the Mexican Consul General's Office in Austin:
