October 20, 2021

Texas Comptroller Visits Anzalduas International Bridge for Good for Texas Tour: Supply Chains Edition

(MISSION) — On the South Texas stop of his Good for Texas Tour: Supply Chains Edition, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar today toured the Anzalduas International Bridge, one of five Hidalgo County international bridge crossings that connect the United States to Mexico and are major gateways for the trade of items such as electronics, machinery, petroleum and fresh produce.

“Border crossings support global supply chains by facilitating the movement of people and goods between neighboring countries,” Hegar said. “Trade between Texas and Mexico represents a significant contribution to the state economy, and the cross-border trade of intermediate goods (components of final products) is an integral part of many industries’ supply chains.”

The Anzalduas International Bridge, which is owned and operated by the City of McAllen in partnership with the cities of Hidalgo and Mission, connects Mission, in Hidalgo County, to Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, which is home to more than 150 international companies with manufacturing plants within a 9-mile radius. The bridge officially opened in January 2010, and operators recently announced a nearly $54 million investment to expand the northbound and southbound lanes. Over the next three decades, the expansion is projected to realize about $642 million in total benefits and savings in vehicle operating costs, time, environmental impacts and toll revenues.

The Hidalgo County bridge crossings were part of a system that accounted for $33 billion in trade through the Hidalgo County ports of entry in 2020. (Trade through all Texas ports of entry totaled $638 billion in 2020.) The top 10 commodities traded across the five Hidalgo County international bridges accounted for 86 percent of all trade through these ports.

The economic growth of Hidalgo County also was spurred by the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the 1990s. This agreement allows Mexican factories, called maquiladoras, to receive manufacturing parts and goods from the United States on a duty- and tariff-free basis and to return goods to the United States. 

During this Good for Texas Tour, Hegar is sharing the results of a new Comptroller’s office study detailing the vital role supply chains play in enhancing production efficiencies and reducing costs for producers and consumers. The study also examines the risks to supply chains and how businesses and the federal government are responding to those risks.

For more information on the tour, including video and social media graphics, go to the Comptroller’s website.