Global Trade Summit 2026: Port Laredo’s commitment to consolidating its role as a hub for Mexico-U.S. trade

Consolidating Laredo, Texas, as the leading meeting point for trade between Mexico and the United States is the goal behind the Global Trade Summit 2026, the new binational platform presented by Port Laredo in Monterrey to bring together leaders from logistics, manufacturing, infrastructure and foreign trade across North America.

The event will take place from July 12 to 14, 2026, at the Laredo Independent School District Performing Arts Complex (LISD PAC), as part of a strategy through which Port Laredo seeks to strengthen its relationship with companies and key foreign trade stakeholders in Mexico, particularly in Nuevo León, one of the most relevant industrial regions for North American supply chains.

During the official launch of the event in Monterrey, Felipe G. Romero, Marketing and Communications Director of Port Laredo, explained that the summit was designed to generate strategic conversations on infrastructure, regional trade, logistics and customs facilitation in North America.

“North America is reorganizing its supply chains, and strategic corridors such as Laredo will be essential for this new economic stage,” he said.

Laredo seeks to strengthen its leadership in Mexico-U.S. trade

Romero highlighted that Port Laredo is currently the number one inland port in the United States, with more than US$350 billion in annual trade between Mexico and the United States, consolidating its position as one of the main drivers of bilateral commerce.

“The real issue is no longer only volume; the issue is how we build more resilient, more efficient and more integrated supply chains for a new era of advanced manufacturing and regional competitiveness,” he said.

He added that many of the supply chains that currently sustain trade between both countries begin in Nuevo León and continue through Laredo toward the rest of North America, which is why the event seeks to become a permanent space for dialogue among industry, logistics and authorities.

“The goal is not only to talk about trade, but to bring together the people who truly move trade every day.”

Global Trade Summit 2026 will bring together logistics and foreign trade leaders

The Global Trade Summit 2026 program will include panels on the evolution of the USMCA, multimodal logistics, border infrastructure, nearshoring, customs facilitation, logistics innovation, cold chain and agri-food trade.

International specialists and analysts will also participate, including David Lynch of The Washington Post; Diego Marroquín of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); and Anna Swanson of The New York Times, who will address topics related to global trade, manufacturing and North America’s economic integration.

The summit will address nearshoring, logistics and customs facilitation

The event will also include sessions focused on border operations, inspections, customs processes and logistics collaboration with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), aimed at importers, exporters, customs brokers and logistics operators.

During the presentation, Javier Amieva, CEO of Americas Trade Alliance, explained that regulatory changes and new dynamics in global trade have forced companies and operators to work in a more coordinated and specialized way.

“A customs broker can no longer work alone; it definitely has to be done as a group and with guidance from specialists.”

For this reason, the Global Trade Summit seeks to become a meeting point where companies, specialists and authorities can exchange experiences and information on logistics, regulatory compliance and cross-border trade.

“Trade between Mexico and the United States is entering a new stage marked by industrial reconfiguration, logistics evolution and regulatory transformation. Port Laredo is at the center of that conversation,” he said.

Port Laredo focuses on a long-term binational platform

The presentation at the Hotel Presidente Intercontinental Monterrey brought together representatives from specialized media in business, logistics, manufacturing and international trade, as well as business leaders and strategic stakeholders from northeastern Mexico.

With this first edition, Port Laredo seeks to consolidate a regional networking and collaboration platform focused on strengthening trade connectivity and logistics integration between Mexico and the United States.