LAREDO, Texas (Border Report) — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and the governor of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas were among border leaders who came to Laredo on Thursday to tout a new U.S. law that could expedite the expansion and creation of several international bridges.
“We’re here today to celebrate a tremendous victory for Laredo, for South Texas, for all of the state of Texas and for the entire country,” said Cruz, a Republican. “Unfortunately expansion of these bridges have been delayed for years due to roadblocks.”
Cruz was among a contingency of who’s who from the South Texas and Mexico border region, assembled at the World Trade Bridge — the No. 1 land port for trade in the United States.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, speaks to reporters on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report)
One after another they took to the podium to stress how important expediting the construction process is to the border region and the American supply chain, a process they believe could begin as early as April.
Under a provision that was put in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law on Dec. 22, the new law applies to only three counties in South Texas — Webb, Maverick and Cameron. It allows for the construction of new international bridges and expansion projects of existing bridges to begin while environmental studies are being conducted.
Cruz described it as a “shot clock” that started Dec. 22, and under the new law, the U.S. State Department must make its recommendation to the White House on pending bridge projects within 60 days. Then President Biden has another 60 days to approve, or deny, construction permits.
The World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas, handles nearly 40% of all incoming trade with Mexico. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report)
“So on April 20, we will have a decision. We will have the presidential permit to go forward on this bridge, and not just this bridge, but bridges in Webb County, here, in Cameron and Maverick County,” Cruz said.
Lawmakers want presidential permits for the expansion of the World Trade Bridge in Laredo to increase it to 18 lanes. They also want to build three other bridges in Texas:
The 4/5 Bridge in Rio Bravo, southeast of Laredo.
The Flor de Mayo International Bridge in Brownsville.
The Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge in Eagle Pass.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, worked with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to get the language put into the 2024 NDAA bill, which authorizes the budget and expenses for the armed services for Fiscal Year 2024.
“This is the type of bipartisan work that gets the job done,” Cuellar told a news conference on Thursday outside the bridge administrative offices, where leaders held a morning roundtable discussion. “This is the type of news that we want to see here at the border; legitimate trade and tourism and the efficiency of this.”
Cuellar told Border Report this is an important win for South Texas and the border economies, and he says it shows that Democrats and Republicans can work together for the greater good.
“Today we’re talking about bipartisan – Democrats and Republicans, working together to make sure we have legitimate trade and tourism,” Cuellar told Border Report.
“It’s very promising to be at this reunion of leaders this New Year,” Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal Anaya said in Spanish. “To celebrate the expansion of this bridge and to join the expansion of our two countries’ economies.
“This is great for both nations,” he said.
Cuellar said in 2023 there was $863 billion in trade between the United States and Mexico and 40% of all trade between both countries entered through Laredo, Texas.
Cuellar said he expects trade to exceed $1 trillion with Mexico within five years.
The World Trade Bridge is the No. 1 port on the U.S. Southwest border for trade, but Cruz said the supply chain is often hindered because of miles of 18-wheelers that are stuck south of the border waiting to cross into the United States at this juncture.
The World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas, is the No. 1 land port for international trade between the U.S. and Mexico. Officials want to expand it to 18 lanes. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report)
Thursday’s meeting came over five months after Cruz, Cuellar, and many of the same leaders had gathered at the same spot in late July to lobby support to force the White House to expedite the international bridge permitting process.
Also in attendance this time, however, were representatives from the Laredo-Colombia Solidarity Bridge, which is located on the western rim of Laredo and connects to Nuevo Leon, Mexico. They announced that they, too, planned to submit bridge expansion proposals to the State Department.
Gerald Schwebel, executive vice president of IBWC Bank, told Border Report that the four current proposed projects will cost “hundreds of millions of dollars.” But he said public-private partnerships were being formed and negotiated to help defray costs between local governments, municipalities, financial institutions and the governments of both countries.
In addition, Cuellar said Mexico has pledged to spend $800 million to install the same high-tech non-intrusive port surveillance systems that the United States uses at its border crossings to improve border security.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
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