Puerto Verde Coalition's Global Trade Bridge Gains Momentum Thanks to Bipartisan Support and New Legislation

EAGLE PASS, Texas, April 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Puerto Verde Coalition is an exciting infrastructure initiative dedicated to making supply chains more resilient and efficient by creating a next-generation commercial trade corridor on the U.S.-Mexico border between the cities of Eagle Pass, TX, and Piedras Negras, Mexico. The corridor will process both commercial vehicles and freight rail traffic. The Coalition is comprised of businesses, communities, nonprofits, and government entities that recognize the need for a new Land Port of Entry (LPOE) along the U.S.- Mexico border that will make our border more resilient, our communities safer, ensure environmental sustainability, and increase trade efficiency.

Read more about PVGTB here,

Read the report on PVGTB's economic benefits here. 

PVGTB key benefits:

• Increasing Security: Puerto Verde will utilize the latest technologies to increase non-intrusive inspection rates (e.g., X-rays) from approximately 20% to 100% in order to prevent the movement of illicit materials and drugs such as fentanyl across our border.
• Resiliency: We need additional trade corridors like Puerto Verde to meet the economic demand of today and tomorrow. According to projections by the Texas Department of Transportation, the only dedicated commercial motor vehicle border crossing in Eagle Pass, TX already serves twice as much traffic as it was designed to handle.
• Efficiency: The facility will be a functionally lean next-generation port with simplified state-of-the-art scanning, a strategic location that allows commercial vehicles to bypass high-traffic residential areas, and the ability to operate 24/7— reducing wait times and improving inspection of commercial loads.
• Sustainability: Shorter wait times at border crossings mean fewer CO2 emissions. Reduced wait times in Eagle Pass will prevent an estimated 100M lbs. of annual CO2 emissions from idling trucks.

This is a critical moment to capitalize on the momentum behind Puerto Verde's proposed corridor and acknowledge those who have worked tirelessly to advance this initiative. The collaboration between a bipartisan group of Members of Congress and the Coalition underscores the importance of support for initiatives that advance our communities and help us achieve a sustainable, prosperous, and resilient future.

The bipartisan Texas Congressional delegation, the State Department, and the Biden Administration have all demonstrated their commitment to the advancement of Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge.

Key Changemakers:

• United States Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, key U.S. House Representatives from Texas including Representatives Henry Cuellar, Tony Gonzales, Vicente Gonzalez, and Monica De La Cruz, the U.S. Mexico Chamber of Commerce, and the municipalities of Piedras Negras, and MX, Maverick County, TX, wrote letters in support of the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge.
• The bi-partisan Congressional coalition has been staunch supporters of the Global Trade Bridge initiative, advocating for policies that promote expeditious policy reviews.
• Senator Cruz authored an amendment to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which streamlined the Presidential Permit Process by establishing a maximum 120-day timeline for approval. Under the amendment, the State Department has 60 days to issue a recommendation to the president, and the President would then have 60 days to grant or deny the permits for the four bridges on the Texas-Mexico border. More here
• Thanks to the work of our key Congressional supporters as well as staff at the US Department of State, the Biden Administration has fast-tracked permit review of our bridge.
• After an official recommendation from the State Department, we are now in the midst of obtaining presidential permit approval for a new international bridge in Maverick County, TX from the White House.

As we celebrate the progress we have made toward making the dream of modernizing this trade corridor a reality for all the citizens of Eagle Pass, the Puerto Verde Coalition remains committed to advancing the Global Trade Bridge initiative. We sincerely thank our congressional champions, community leaders, senior executives in the Biden Administration, the citizens of the Maverick County community and we urge the White House to prioritize the issuance of a conditional permit for land entry to support the development of sustainable infrastructure projects that will benefit Texas, our economy, and our planet. 

For more information about the Puerto Verde Coalition's Global Trade Bridge initiative and its leadership, please visit Puerto Verde - A next-generation commercial trade corridor or Contact us.

Media Contact:
Bob Salera
[email protected]

SOURCE Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge