The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce recently hosted a breakfast event, San Antonio Rapid React: Using a Multi-Pronged Approach to Enhance Border Management. The breakfast, graciously sponsored by IBC Bank, was a series of discussions about our southern border led by the Atlantic Council’s Jason Marczak. Mr. Marczak’s recent study of border wait times came to an astonishing conclusion, showing that a reduction in wait times at the border of 10 minutes would lead to a $2.2 billion increase in GDP across Mexico’s six border states. That same 10 minutes would lead to $547,000 in extra spending every month in the US’s four border states and an increase of over $3 million in labor income in Mexico.
The Greater San Antonio Chamber’s Interim President and CEO Dave Petersen welcomed the group and introduced the Atlantic Council team from Washington, including Jason Marczak. Mr. Marczak went on to welcome Greater San Antonio Chamber members Gerry Schwebel with IBC Bank, Adam Blanchard with Double Diamond Transport, and Raquel Espinosa with Union Pacific. All discussed the possibilities of an improved border crossing process and the need for a good balance of security and speed along the length of the border.