COSTEP, Council for South Texas Economic Progress

COSTEP, Council for South Texas Economic Progress, represents a flourishing seven county region in Deep South Texas known as the Rio South Texas Region. The region’s geographic location on the U.S.-Mexico Border as well as the Gulf of Mexico places it at the heart of the North American supply chain for a multiplicity of industries. As a region, the advantages of this strategic binational location are robust and offer significant advantages for domestic and international companies looking to expand operations. In addition to its unique location, a young and growing workforce is enabling business success.

No other place on earth will give you all this: deep financial savings, operational flexibility, a direct path to 25% of the consumer market in North America, access to all your suppliers, and speedy delivery.

Did you know that the Rio South Texas region has an incredible advantage when it comes to trade? As a bi-national region on the U.S.-Mexico Border, we offer manufacturers the best of both worlds. You have the ability to operate your business in two countries while treating the business and manufacturing process as one.

The location offers significant supply chain advantages, due to proximity to suppliers and customers. Quick & seamless connectivity from the movement of people, goods, and services is what the region is known for. Transportation and logistics infrastructure is known for its speed. Access to Mexico is easily obtained through 20 international bridges, which also includes rail access. Speaking of rail, North American class 1 rail networks exist headed northbound to the rest of the US, as do deep-water seaports, interstate highways, regional airports, and a top air cargo international airport.

Our region is a backdrop for a rare and exceptional opportunities for manufacturers starting out or expanding. With the workforce you need to succeed, this is hard to beat. We’ve got a young and vast workforce of 4 million people, with an average age of 29. This means you get to empower your business with a diverse and dynamic workforce – now and in the future.

Our niche location is at the heart of North America’s supply chain. You’ll be ideally situated between the major trade routes on the West Coast and East Coast of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. In just one place, you’ll gain access to two large and vibrant communities in two different countries that are a living and thriving zone.

REMARKABLE TRADE ADVANTAGES
The bi-national region on the U.S.-Mexico Border offers manufacturers the best of two worlds. Firms will have the opportunity to work within trade zones, which offers tangible returns on investment. With unmatched transportation and logistics infrastructure, Rio South Texas is at the heart of North American supply chain. As mentioned previously, there’s access to the region’s 20 bridges, North American Class 1 rail network, deep-water seaports, interstate highways, regional airports, and a top air cargo international airport, providing seamless connectivity. Rio South Texas has immediate access to major trade routes on the east and west coasts of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Core industries identified through data analysis in the seven-county region include Manufacturing; Aerospace; Commerce; Transportation; Utilities; Natural Resources and Mining; Education; Health Services; Leisure and Tourism; Professional and Business Services. RIO SOUTH TEXAS …is an exciting location for manufacturers of all sizes and from all sectors. In just one place, companies benefit from the resources of two communities that, though located in different countries, live and thrive as one.

COSTEP, COUNCIL FOR SOUTH TEXAS ECONOMIC PROGRESS
COSTEP was founded in 1972. It was created to drive economic growth more effectively for the communities throughout the 7-county Rio South Texas region. The area includes
Cameron, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Starr, Webb, Willacy, and Zapata counties and supports developing opportunities for industry support in the municipalities on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. With a focus on the bi-national economic environment, COSTEP is advancing the region as the prime manufacturing location in Texas.

COSTEP utilizes a new strategic framework for economic development via an aggressive data-driven and market-validated strategy. COSTEP is central in crafting an enhanced manufacturing zone to give industries a greater return on investment by intensifying Rio South Texas’s focus on a vibrant supply chain, a pipeline for talent, and access to 6 modes of transportation, all within the lowest cost of living area in North America.

RIO SOUTH TEXAS OFFERS A strategic geographic location between two countries that leverages:
• workforce talent and trade agreements
• A growing, young labor force
• Developed land and seaports
• One of the largest, trainable workforces
• U.S.’s lowest cost of living
• Synergistic manufacturing cluster/process between the U.S. and Mexico
• Available land and wide open spaces for development
• Business-friendly environment