25th PATHWAYS FOR TRADE SYMPOSIUM GALLERY

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The event was hosted by Laredo Economic Development Corporation, Logistics and Manufacturing Association Port Laredo (LMA), Texas A&M International University (TAMIU), Association of Logistics Forwarding Agents (ALFA), Laredo Licensed U.S. Customs Brokers Association (LLUSCBA), Laredo College Economic Development Center, Laredo Motor Carriers Association (LMCA), CODEIN and INDEX were held September 19-20, 2018 at Texas A&M International University’s Student Center Ballroom.

This year’s theme was titled “Supply Chains in the New Global Reality”  and brought topics that included The North American Trade, The Future of Supply Chain, Multilateral and Regional Trade Policy in an Era of Global Value Chains, Benefits of the US-Mexico Bilateral Relationship in the Commercial Sector, The Status of the modernization of NAFTA, Manufacturing, and Technology, The Benefits of Apprenticeship in the Trucking Industry, The Strategic Importance of Regionalism in South Texas Energy Economic Development and others.   

Keynote Speakers included Bradley F. Hayes, Executive Director, Office of Trade Relations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Min. Guillermo Malpica Soto, Head of the Trade and NAFTA Office, Mexico’s Ministry of Economy in Washington, D.C., and Michael Camuñez, Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce and President and CEO at Monarch Global Strategies, LLC.

The North American Trade Celebration Reception sponsored by the International Bank of Commerce was held September 19, at the IBC Annex featuring special guests Dennis E. Nixon, International Bank of Commerce President and CEO, Kathryn L. Flachsbart Akins, Consul General of the United States in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and Keynote Speaker Ken Roberts, President, World City LLC

SESSION I- THE NAFTA DILEMMA: A NEW NORTH AMERICAN DYNAMIC  

Moderator: Carlos Martinez Gonzalez, Association of Laredo Forwarding Agents

• Eric Miller, President of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group
• Gerald Schwebel, Executive Vice President, International Bank of Commerce

SESSION II- NORTH AMERICAN TRADE: WHAT'S NEXT?  

Moderator: Jose D. Gonzalez, Laredo Licensed U.S. Customs Brokers Association

• Geoffrey Powell, Past President and Chairman of the Board, National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA)
• Mario Sanchez Montemayor, National Commissioner at Confederation of Associations of Customs Agents in Mexico(CAAAREM)
• Angela Collins, Chair, Canadian Society of Customs Brokers

SESSION III- THE FUTURE OF SUPPLY CHAIN  

Moderator: Ben Escarcega, Director Integrated Solutions Group, Yusen Logistics

Presentation: Nigel Cory, Associate Director, Trade Policy, Information Technology, and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) – The Future of Global and Regional Supply Chains  

• Jean-Pierre Asselin, Managing Partner, Trans Pro Logistics
• Jose Miñarro, Senior Vice President Customs, Transplace

SESSION IV- MANUFACTURING AND TECHNOLOGY: THE 4TH REVOLUTION    Introduction: Joseph Mendiola, Vice President of Business Development, Laredo Economic Development CorporationPresentation: Dr. Ralph Biedermann, President, The MRB Group- Regional Manufacturing Outlook”

• Luis Hernandez Garcia, Operations Manager, CATERPILLAR-REMAN
• Joaquin Nacher, Vice President of Operations, Medline Industries

SESSION V- THE BENEFITS OF APPRENTICESHIP IN THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY  (*click to read bio or presentation) Moderator: Gerardo Maldonado, Vice President, Laredo Motor Carriers Association

• David Harrison, Executive Director, National Apprenticeship FASTPORT

SESSION VI-  THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OR REGIONALISM IN SOUTH TEXAS ENERGY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT   (*click to read bio or presentation) Moderator: Jorge Canavati, President, J. Canavati & Co. LLC.

• John LaRue, Executive Director, Port of Corpus Christi Authority (POCCA)
• Christopher Ashcraft, Vice President & CEO, South Texas Energy & Economic Roundtable (STE