MCALLEN, TEXAS - Hopefully, a revised USMCA will allow Mexico to avoid being impacted by the new tariffs President Trump is trying to impose - in which case the new tariffs on steel from Mexico would be eliminated.

This is the view of Jorge Torres, president of Rio Grande Valley-based Interlink Trade Services. Torres gave an update on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement negotiations at a recent meeting of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation Stakeholders Committee.

“The USMCA revision is happening right now. Mexico’s Secretary of the Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have had meetings. And the meetings have been somewhat positive,” Torres said.

“Obviously, they're looking at reinforcing the supply chain in the three countries. And that is something that is critical for us. They want to enforce the rules of origin on regional value content. They want to get more regional content, obviously.”

Torres continued: “Mexico is pushing for not being affected by external tariffs, which is Sections 122, 301, 232 and all that. That's an uphill fight, but hopefully they'll get there, somehow. That will be critical to getting rid of the steel tariffs and the Section 301 investigations, all the tariffs that the President wants to impose. If they can isolate Mexico, that would be great. But again, that's an uphill battle, because the U.S. is demanding a lot of Mexico.”

Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian website to read the full story.

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PORT ISABEL, Texas - Saronic Technologies, the Austin-based defense technology startup that is considering building a shipyard at the Port of Brownsville, places a big emphasis on developing a young workforce.

So says Chris Johnson, director for the company’s shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana.

“Saronic is really, really good at is bringing on younger talent and training it,” Johnson said, during a presentation he and three of his colleagues made to Point Isabel ISD.

By way of an example, Johnson told the story of the shipyard in Franklin.

“Louisiana has long had a problem with young graduates in STEM, specifically engineering, electrical, and mechanical. Many different types of engineers have to leave Louisiana… because there aren't good jobs for those professionals. But we're helping reduce what they call the brain drain, where young professionals leave because there's not enough jobs for them. Saronic has done a really good job of addressing that in Franklin. I suspect we'll do it here again in Brownsville, given that chance.”

Johnson said there is a “buzz around Saronic” because “our culture is different.”

Doug Lambert, a co-founder and COO of Saronic, agreed.

“We've up skilled that workforce (in Louisiana). We have welders who are becoming engineers. We have pipe fitters who are growing in their careers. And that's something that's incredibly important to Saronic. We have a robust kind of jobs skill training pipeline that we've been prototyping here in Louisiana, and could potentially bring here to Brownsville, Texas.”

Lambert said the company thinks about manufacturing differently to most.

“These are not dirty jobs. We think about them in a way that is incredibly, incredibly tech-forward and people-forward and process-forward. So we tend to invest in our employees. We like to up-skill and create new opportunities that folks otherwise wouldn't have gotten in the area. And that really is reflected in how we build out infrastructure,” Lambert said.

Editor's Note: To read the full story go to the RGG Business Journal website.

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MCALLEN, Texas - Durante un seminario web el 4 de marzo, el presidente de Interlink Trade Services, Jorge Torres, explicó que la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos declaró ilegales los aranceles impuestos bajo la Ley de Poderes Económicos de Emergencia Internacional (IEEPA), lo que abre la puerta a posibles reembolsos estimados en unos $133 millones, aunque aún no se ha establecido un mecanismo claro para su devolución.

Torres advirtió que la eliminación de los aranceles de la IEEPA fue seguida por la implementación de la Sección 122, que introduce un recargo inicial del 10 % que podría aumentar al 15 % y que se mantendrá temporal hasta finales de julio, mientras la Casa Blanca evalúa otras herramientas, como las Secciones 232 y 301, para mantener la presión comercial.

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EDINBURG, Texas - State Sen. Juan Hinojosa has urged Valley irrigation districts to work on plans to line their canals.

And he welcomed new funding from NADBank, saying it augments the money the Legislature has committed through the Texas Water Development Board.

“We (the Legislature) set aside a billion dollars for grants, not for loans, just straight out grants. And the staff of the Water Development Board recommended that $100 million of their billion dollars be set aside for just the Rio Grande Valley irrigation districts. And the reason for that is that they want the canals to be lined,” Hinojosa said.

“About 85% of the water that's used here in the Rio Grande Valley goes through canals and irrigation districts. And of that 85%, we lose probably half of it to seepage and evaporation.”

Lining the Valley's canals will save hundreds of millions of dollars, Hinojosa said.

“We need to move forward and try and find ways to improve our canal system so that we can conserve water, save water, and not waste it through seepage and evaporation.”

Hinojosa continued: “Our biggest challenge is that many of these water districts and irrigation districts on their own cannot afford to pay back some of the loans or some of the interest. And they need to consolidate, or they need to unite, or form some kind of coalition so that they can increase their resources and ability to be able to qualify for some of these grants that are very much needed here in the Valley.”

Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian website to read the full story.

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EDINBURG, TEXAS - U.S. Sen. John Cornyn made his last campaign swing through the Rio Grande Valley in the company of the National Border Patrol Council.

“The Border Patrol Council, they have become like brothers and sisters,” Cornyn said, as he acknowledged the council’s endorsement.

“It was heartbreaking to see how our professional law enforcement, who dedicate their lives to this nation, were abandoned by the administration during the previous four years, by the Biden administration.

“I continue to do everything that I can make sure that our brave men and women in the Border Patrol can actually use their training and their skills to do the job and not be diverted providing shelter, clothing, transportation, while being overrun by a tsunami of humanity and which has overwhelmed many of our border communities.”

Cornyn continued: “In Texas, we believe in supporting our men and women in uniform, no matter what color that uniform is, because the alternative is chaos and anarchy.

“And it's shocking to me to see in Washington, DC, and other places, where people say, well, we shouldn't enforce our laws, and we shouldn't support our law enforcement officials who are doing nothing more than their duty enforcing laws that Congress has passed, and the President has signed into law.

“So, what we've seen depicted on our TV sets in places like Minnesota are tragic, but they're also shameful, and accusing law enforcement of being the problem rather than the solution is just exactly wrong.”

Cornyn also spoke about the 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty. He gave a shoutout to Bret Erickson of the Texas International Fresh Produce Association, who was there to endorse him.

“We worked with (U.S. Rep.) Monica De La Cruz to work on this 1944 Water Treaty with Mexico. I still remember being in Mexico City many years ago, when I was attorney general. We were still talking about that water treaty with Mexico hoarding water, denying it to our farmers and ranchers here in the United States. And we have said enough is enough.

“Thank goodness, President Trump and (Agriculture) Secretary (Brooke) Rollins and Congress have come together to make sure that we get regular disbursements of that water so it will not only support our folks in the Ag sector but also provide for the economy and the prosperity the Rio Grande Valley deserves.”

Editor's Note: To read the full story go to the Rio Grande Guardian website.

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BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The top Democrats running for U.S. Senate have made their final campaign swings through the Rio Grande Valley ahead of the Primary Election on March 3.

U.S. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett had an event at Brownsville Public Library.

Texas state Rep. James Talarico appeared on stage with other Democratic candidates at the Edinburg Municipal Auditorium.

Here is an audio recording of part of Crockett’s speech.

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BROWNSVILLE, Texas - SpaceX will be hiring another 4,000 workers this year at its Starbase rocket launching facility at Boca Chica, says the executive director of South Texas Manufacturers Association.

Mike Willis gave an overview of the manufacturing scene in the Rio Grande Valley and northern Tamaulipas in his monthly report for February. After running through a number of plant closures over the past two years he ended on a very positive note.

“There's a lot going on. I think we're going to see a lot of announcements in the next year or so, up and down the Valley. So I am really pretty optimistic we'll see a lot more manufacturing job growth here than we've seen in a long time,” Willis said.

With regard to SpaceX, Willis stays in close contact with the company’s local leadership.

“On the good news front, SpaceX… and this may not be good news if you're a current manufacturer who's trying to hold on your workforce and find more people to hire… but SpaceX has confirmed that they're going to hire 4,000 more people in 2026 for Starbase.

According to Wikipedia, SpaceX had 13,000 workers as of September 2023. The company, whose proper name is Space Exploration Technologies, Corp., had an operating income of $8 billion in 2025.

Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., told the RGG Business Journal that he too has heard that SpaceX is hiring an additional 4,000 workers this year.

“Four thousand new workers? Yes, that had been in the offing. During our conversations, they're expanding. Plus the movement or transfer of their headquarters, meaning additional employees. So the growth continues. We're very, very excited about it, obviously,” Treviño said.

“It means we've got a lot of work to do. From an infrastructure standpoint. we need TxDOT to get cracking on Highway 4 sooner rather than later. There were too many people already on it. We’ve got to get that done. But these are good problems to have. These are great problems they have.”

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MCALLEN, Texas - There was a 30 percent decrease in loans for construction companies in the Rio Grande Valley in January, the executive director of the South Texas Builders Association reports.

Mario Guerrero visited Washington, D.C., recently to urge the White House and the Department of Homeland Security to stop ICE from conducting raids at construction sites. Those meetings in D.C. were set up by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar.

“We need to protect our economy. Right now in South Texas, we're being dramatically affected. In January, there was a 30 percent decrease in construction loans. Compared to 2025, there's been a 30 percent decrease in construction loans that have been acquired by contractors in order to go ahead and build homes. It's a big strain on the economy. We have companies that have filed for bankruptcy. It's no secret to the people that are here from the Valley. We’ve also had companies that are seeing 40% losses on revenues, lumber companies, tile companies across the Valley.”

Guerrero made those comments on a webinar with Congressman Cuellar and Monica Y. Martinez, executive director of Laredo Chamber of Commerce.

Guerrero also participated on a webinar hosted recently by Comite de 100, a group founded buy business leaders who wish to create “an immigration system that reflects the values of fairness, economic prosperity, and respect for all.”

Guerrero told the group that he will continue to call out local elected officials until ICE stops its raids of construction sites.

“I’m nowhere near a professional when it comes to politics, and maybe my tactics are a little rugged, but one of the things that I did down here in South Texas is I called out every elected official by name, and I also put their picture on a video,” Guerrero said, explaining his tactics in getting attention for STBA’s cause.

“I really believe that our elected officials should be our voice. I'm a civilian, and if you're an elected official, you should be our voice in the good and in the bad. So I stated in a video that was released by my team in early November of last year that we needed to hold each elected official accountable. (The meeting) was set up for 200 people, and we had close to 400 people show up. It was extremely packed.”

As a result to that meeting, STBA secured national media attention, Guerrero told Comite de 100.

“I do have a very strong presence in the media outlets. I also have a podcast that reaches hundreds of thousands of people. I don't believe I'm doing anything special, but I do believe that we need to hold the politicians that we put an office accountable for what they're voting for.”

The saddest thing builders are seeing is ICE agents racing 50 and 60 miles an hour in neighborhoods as they try to apprehend their construction workers, Guerrero said.

“The saddest part that we're seeing is these ICE agents are going 50, 60, miles per hour down a subdivision. Okay, we understand that you're probably trying to get to a job site that's inside that subdivision. But what are you going to do if you kill the child? What if there's a child riding a bike? And I have videos that I showed at that meeting. When you have these ICE agents going and driving these vehicles between 40 to 60 miles per hour in people's backyards that are not fenced we have a real problem.”

Editor's Note: To read the full story go to the Rio Grande Guardian website. The attached audio comes from the Comite de 100 webinar.

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