22: Infrastructure and trade in North America (chapter in The Elgar Companion to North American Trade and Integration)
2025Edward Elgar (Anderson & Kukucha, eds.)
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Curriculum Vitae
Daniel Covarrubias, Ph.D.
Director, Texas Center for Border Economic & Enterprise Development
Laredo, Texas|US-Mexico Border
0+
Years Experience
0
Publications
0+
Speaking Engagements
The throughline
I work where border research meets the real economy.
Running a university research center and a logistics living lab, after two decades across government and private industry in three countries, I turn what’s actually happening on the ground into insight that shapes how North America trades. The research is reported from inside the border, at the busiest land port in the Western Hemisphere.
Border research
Center + living lab
The real economy
Government + industry
Public insight
Op-eds · keynotes · counsel
What I do
Three ways the same work shows up. Each one opens into the lab.
Research & Data
A university research center and the Logistechs Living Lab, putting hard numbers to cross-border trade, freight, and the technology reshaping both.
$500K+
Grants as PI / Co-PI
Living Lab
Applied research
Public Scholarship
Forty publications and thirty-plus op-eds that translate the research for the people who actually move the border, plus a standing voice in regional and national media.
40
Publications
36+
Keynotes & talks
Economic Development
Directing TCBEED and advising government and industry on how North America’s busiest land port competes, modernizes, and grows.
3
Countries worked
Director
TCBEED, TAMIU
What I’m focused on
The arguments I keep making
Five threads running through the writing and the work.
Career Journey
A 20+ year career spanning academic research, government policy, and private enterprise across three countries.
Academic
Government
Private
Research
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
3
Countries
4
Sectors
8
Positions
Publications & Writing
Peer-reviewed research, books, and commentary on cross-border trade, logistics, and economic development.
Publication Activity by Year
2017: 1
18
2018: 0
2019: 0
20
2020: 1
2021: 0
22
2022: 1
2023: 9
24
2024: 14
2025: 14
Laredo port prepares for $10 trillion in new economic value by 2030
2025San Antonio Business Journal
Op-Ed
The Infinity Loop: How Perpetual Uncertainty is becoming North America's New Trade Policy
2025Rio Grande Guardian / LMT Business Journal
Op-Ed
Shared Security, Shared Prosperity: The Path Forward for North American Trade
2025Rio Grande Guardian / LMT Business Journal
Op-Ed
Why-Not-AI? A New Litmus Test for Cross-Border Business
2025Rio Grande Guardian / LMT Business Journal
Op-Ed
Speaking Engagements
Keynotes, panels, and presentations at conferences and industry events across North America.
36
Total Events
15
Keynotes
4
Years Active
Activity Heatmap
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Less
More
Driving Growth: Clean & Efficient Mobility Catalyzes Economic Integration
PanelNADBank Summit 2025
San Antonio, TXAug 2025
From Border Basics to Logistechs: Laredo’s Role in the Next Era of Cross-Border Logistics
KeynoteLaredo College — Global Logistics Center Lecture Series
Laredo, TXAug 2025
Reimagining North American Economic Integration
KeynoteRIO South Texas Region — Binational Auto Cluster
Laredo, TXAug 2025
Hacia el T-MEC 2.0
KeynoteEncuentro de Negocios INDEX Zona Costa
Tijuana, MXJul 2025
Reimaginando la Integración Económica de América del Norte
Keynote85 Congreso CAAAREM
Mexico City, MXJul 2025
Reimagining North American Economic Integration
KeynoteReliance Partners — 8th Annual Modernization of Cross-Border Trade
Laredo, TXJun 2025
USMCA & North American Strategic Competitiveness
PanelWITA — Washington International Trade Association (Virtual)
Washington, DCJun 2025
Brainstorming Dialogue: Navigating the New Era of U.S.–Mexico Trade
PanelConsulate of Mexico in Brownsville
Brownsville, TXJun 2025
Reimagining North American Economic Integration: Toward USMCA 2.0
KeynoteCONCAMIN Meeting
Laredo, TXMay 2025
Reimagining North American Economic Integration: Toward USMCA 2.0
KeynoteNASCO Continental Reunion
Dallas, TXMay 2025
Geographic Reach
Education & Credentials
Academic foundations spanning business, economics, and political science across three countries.
Degrees
Ph.D., Business Competitiveness & Economic Development
Deusto Business School, University of Deusto
M.A., Political Science
Texas A&M International University
MBA
University of Texas at San Antonio
B.B.A.
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM)
Certifications
Fundraising and Development Specialization — Professional Certificate
2025Coursera, University of California Davis
Strategic Innovation — Certificate of Completion
2021ESADE Business School
Initiation and Sensibilization to Industry 4.0 — Certificate of Completion (16 hours)
2018Tecnalia Research and Innovation
Intelligent Artificial Vision Systems — Certificate of Completion (40 hours)
2018Tecnalia Research and Innovation
Digitalization, IoT, Big Data and Data Analytics — Certificate of Completion (40 hours)
2018Tecnalia Research and Innovation
Cybersecurity — Certificate of Completion (40 hours)
2018Tecnalia Research and Innovation
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality — Certificate of Completion (40 hours)
2018Tecnalia Research and Innovation
BUS ADM 2022-001 Keys To Successful Entrepreneurship — Certificate of Completion
2017UC Berkeley Extension
Microeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC) — Certificate of Completion
2012Orkestra — Basque Institute of Competitiveness / Harvard Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness
Social Network Analysis — Certificate of Completion
2012Coursera, University of Michigan
Additional Information
Grants, service, awards, and other professional activities.
Texas A&M International University Innovation Grant (PI)
Texas A&M International University
- •Award: $50,000
- •Competitively awarded internal grant supporting cross-border trade research and technology innovation initiatives.
Electric Truck Cross-Border Drayage Comparative Pilot Study at Laredo–Nuevo Laredo (Co-PI)
North American Development Bank (sub-award via TTI)
- •Award: $250,000
- •Bi-national partnership with NADBank and Texas A&M Transportation Institute examining sustainable freight solutions at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Design and Implementation of a Bi-national Air Quality Measurement System at the Laredo, Texas/Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas Cross-Border Region (Co-PI)
North American Development Bank (sub-award via TTI)
- •Award: $150,000
- •Cross-institutional collaboration with NADBank and TTI addressing environmental monitoring across international boundaries.
Accelerating Credentials Planning Grant (PI)
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
- •Award: $50,000
- •State-funded initiative to develop workforce credentialing pathways aligned with regional industry needs.
Coahuila Innovacion 4.0 — Creation of an Industrial Innovation Center in Saltillo, Coahuila, MX (Leader)
Secretaria de Economia PROSOFT (Mexico Ministry of Economy)
- •Award: $7,000,000 MXP ($354,679.50 USD)
- •Secured competitive federal funding from Mexico's Ministry of Economy to establish an Industry 4.0 innovation hub serving the automotive manufacturing cluster.
Creation of an Industrial Innovation Center in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, MX (Leader)
Secretaria de Economia PROSOFT (Mexico Ministry of Economy)
- •Award: $5,000,000 MXP ($253,342.50 USD)
- •Led proposal development and secured federal PROSOFT funding to create a technology transfer center supporting regional SMEs and cross-border innovation.
Research Interests
Logistechs, Cross-Border Trade and Transportation, Economic Development, Territorial Innovation Models, Cross-Border Cooperation, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship