A wide-ranging interview with Bill Dietrich, director of the Port of Brownsville

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - William Dietrich, port director and CEO of the Port of Brownsville, says the South Texas-Northern Tamaulipas region is something special and unique.

Dietrich gave an exclusive interview to Ron Whitlock Reports at the conclusion of a tour of the port by 45-plus business owners from southern Mexico. The tour was arranged by the McAllen chapter of Asociacion de Empresarios Mexicanos and COMCE Sur.

“When I was at the BTAC meeting last week, I explained up there about how the border region is quite different from both countries. And what I mean is the distance between Mexico City and the border, and the distance of the border to Washington, DC., I think we've created our own culture down here and that culture interrelates amongst each other no matter what the national rhetoric is,” Dietrich said.

“I think we've created a country within a country down here and understanding that our relationship, our cross-border relationships, are so strong that I believe it's going to be something that's going to magnify in the future and be something that we build on and we create this new economy down here in the Rio Grande Valley.”

BTAC stands for Border Trade Advisory Committee. It is run by the Texas Department of Transportation, and it met two weeks ago in Houston.

“I think I was received very well. It was very celebratory, and I think we brought a lot to the table. And most of all, we were able to showcase the Rio Grande Valley's port, the Port of Brownsville. I believe that statewide we are respected, and I think everyone's starting to see this potential and what's going on down here. We definitely have something spectacular going on.”

Dietrich was also asked how much involvement the Port of Brownsville has with the automotive industry. He said it is mostly involved through the importation of steel.

“We bring in 5.9 million metric tons of steel every year. That’s sent off to the maquila industry, for the (manufacture of) vehicles, white appliances and all that. We do send some north,” Dietrich said.

"I think we're going to see more as it relates to the vehicle industry. Some of the Pacific Coast ports, they’re trying to find a nexus to the Gulf side. And we should be looking at bringing in container service within the next couple years. And a lot of that is going to be related to the automotive industry.”

Dietrich continued: “About 90 to 95 percent of our steel is actually going into the maquila industry, into Monterrey, Saltillo, San Luis Potosi, and the other five to 10 percent is going north.”

Asked if the Port of Brownsville will benefit from Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's decision to build a container freight rail corridor between the Pacific to the Gulf coasts, Dietrich said:

“Absolutely. To be able to take advantage of what the west coast of of Mexico has with its naturally deepwater ports, to be able to bring some of that over here will be great. And we can definitely be a component of that.”

In his interview, Dietrich also spoke about SpaceX’s use of the Port of Brownsville, the new training center being built at the port by Texas A&M, and the port’s new industrial park.

Here is an audio recording of the interview:

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