HARLINGEN, Texas - Rick Carrera, COSTEP's economic development director, gave an update on a project his group is working on to map all the automotive companies in the Rio South Texas region.

COSTEP stands for Council for South Texas Economic Progress. The Rio South Texas region comprises northern Tamaulipas, the Rio Grande Valley, and Laredo.

Carrera spoke briefly about the Binational Autocluster project at a meeting of the South Texas Manufacturers Association (STMA). The meeting was held at Harlingen Convention Center.

STMA Executive Director Mike Willis invited Carrera to give an update. Carrera said COSTEP has so far received 90 responses.

The Binational Autocluster project started in July 2025. It is a strategic initiative aimed at uniting 140+ automotive companies, universities, and economic development entities across South Texas and Northern Tamaulipas, Mexico.

After Carrera had spoken, Willis explained what the project is about.

"For those of you who are not familiar, COSTEP is a regional economic development group. They go to trade shows all over the world. They try to attract companies to our region," Willis said.

"They are trying to map out information about all the companies on both sides of the river that are in the automotive business to help show that to foreign prospects to try to see what kind of supply chain they could have if they located to northern Tamaulipas or especially the Rio Grande Valley. So, that is what that is for."

After the STMA meeting had ended, Carrera gave an exclusive interview to RGG Business Journal about the Binational Autocluster project. He also spoke about an INDEX Nacional conference he attended recently and looked forward to a trade show he will be attending in Florida in the near future.

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