STB Assessment Updates Learn More Here
Economic
Impact
IMPACT
Revitalization of local rural, predominately Hispanic communities in the U.S.
Dr. Ray Perryman, world-class scholar and Texas’s pre-eminent economist, shares his economic impact highlights of Puerto Verde on Eagle Pass:
“Trade facilitated by the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge will generate over $135B in Gross Domestic Product and nearly 1.4M jobs”
– Dr. Ray Perryman, President and CEO, The Perryman Group
The Puerto Verde project will also revitalize local rural, predominately Hispanic communities that have been historically marginalized, disadvantaged, and underinvested. Maverick County is a rural county in Southwest Texas with a population of 57,887 per the 2020 Census, where 95% of its residents are Hispanic–the third highest percentage for any county in the continental U.S. In addition, Maverick County is one of the poorest counties in Texas and the United States. Maverick County’s per capita income is $19,098, approximately half the U.S. average, with a poverty rate of 20.5%, approximately double the U.S. average.
The construction and operation of the PVGTB is expected to benefit the community in many ways, including employment growth and increased tax revenue. Furthermore, the project can potentially create a new hub for North American reshoring activity. The internationally renowned Dr. Ray Perryman conducted an economic impact study to highlight the benefits of the project to the region’s economy.
Dr. Perryman and his group have completed over 3,000 private-sector projects and over 1,000 public policy studies. His client list includes the 9 largest firms in the US, 3 of the 4 largest domestic foundations, the 6 largest energy companies doing business in the US, the 12 largest technology companies in the world, the 5 largest financial institutions in the US, two-thirds of the Global 25, and more than one-half of the Fortune 100. Dr. Perryman has served as advisor and/or consultant to several U.S. Presidents, numerous House and Senate Committees, 12 Cabinet departments, the Federal Reserve System, numerous foreign governments, and more than 100 other state and federal agencies. He has testified extensively regarding economic, financial, and statistical issues in hundreds of congressional, legislative, regulatory, and judicial proceedings.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Potential to Create 320,000 Jobs and
$28 Billion Annual GDP
Dr. Perryman is intimately familiar with the Eagle Pass / Piedras Negras area, having worked extensively in Texas and along the border region. His firm has been producing regular forecasts for each metropolitan statistical area and region along the Texas-Mexico border for more than 40 years and performed numerous studies related to maquiladoras, interregional trade, major infrastructure projects (highways and border crossings), and other aspects of the importance of the relationships between the U.S. and Mexico including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and its predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Dr. Perryman also provided all the economic analysis underlying the development of Fort Worth Alliance Airport, the largest and most successful business aviation complex in the world, and much of the associated collateral activity.
Dr. Perryman’s analysis concludes that the Puerto Verde project has the potential to create a new North American reshoring hub that could have a profound economic impact on the region, generating 320k jobs and $28B in annual GDP, with much of the impact accruing to local communities. Of the 320k potential jobs to be created by the project, 105k are expected to be filled locally in Maverick County and 166k in Northern Coahuila. Business activity related to the Puerto Verde project may also increase annual tax receipts for the State of Texas by $830M, including $26M in retail tax receipts for the City of Eagle Pass. Furthermore, the Puerto Verde project may increase local property values and demand for amenities, including restaurants, retail outlets, and personal services.
