Rio Grande & Immigration: Q&A with Ray Perryman

In this series, Connect Media has been chatting with Texas economist Ray Perryman about trends and issues impacting various regions through Texas. In this Q&A, Perryman discusses the Rio Grande Valley, an area that borders Mexico.

Q. How are political issues – threats to build a wall, immigration policies – impacting this particular region from an economic standpoint.
A. The region continues to grow, but there is no question that the talk of walls, more restrictive immigration, and potential limits on NAFTA are causing some investments to be on hold until the picture clears.

Q. Harlingen recently had two fairly large groundbreakings. Is this something we’ll so more of in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley?
A. We should see more of this type of activity. This assumes, of course, that NAFTA is maintained in something approaching its current form. The differential in costs between NAFTA and the standard tariffs in the World Trade Organization is significant enough to impact future development patterns, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Q. Looking into your crystal ball, what are some of the economic impacts that might be in evidence in 2018?
A. In addition to the items mentioned above, retail trade is a big part of the local economy. And, no surprise, it’s being impacted by the current political situation. On the positive side, the area has a good outlook overall, but it will be subject to some risks, depending on the current political environment.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Texas Commercial Real Estate News Editor Amy Sorter