PHARR — Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller visited the international bridge here on Wednesday and was briefed on the status of bridge produce crossings.
Miller met with city officials, spoke briefly with media throughout his visit and was updated on current and future infrastructure projects on both the U. S. and Mexican sides of the border.
The bridge is the largest land port of entry for produce in the United States — a title the bridge did not hold when Miller last visited in 2016, he said.
“This city really has their thoughts on international trade,” Miller said. “This bridge is a big focus (for the city of Pharr), and that’s good, because this state has a big focus on international trade right now.”
With the North American Free Trade Agreement under negotiation, Miller said he hopes the deal will wrap up before the Mexican election brings in new leadership. He also said he hopes a new agreement benefits Texas and the Valley.
“NAFTA is more important for Texas than any other state,” he said. “Hopefully, we wrap that up in the next two weeks. … We’d like to get that done before the election, so we don’t need to start from scratch.”
Overall, Miller said his visit was “very productive.”
“I left here knowing a lot more about the bridge business here in Pharr than I did before I came here,” he said. “I feel like we’re in good hands here.”
