Texas Expansion: A Strategic Gateway for Latin American Companies

Texas is no longer simply one of the more attractive U.S. states. It is a continental-scale market, a logistics platform, a capital destination, and a business environment that rewards speed, scale, and strategic positioning. For Latin American companies looking for a credible and durable entry point into the United States, Texas offers something unusual: economic depth, cultural familiarity, and operational logic in a single jurisdiction.

This white paper, produced jointly by Auxadi and GNS Law, summarizes what Latin American companies should understand before structuring their entry into Texas.

A market in its own right

Texas can be understood on its own terms, not simply as part of the broader U.S. economy. In 2025, its GDP reached $2.9 trillion, which would place it among the largest economies in the world if it were a country. Texas has led the United States in job-creating expansion and relocation projects for thirteen consecutive years, with 1,368 qualified capital investment projects in 2024 alone.

Texas is also a global trading state in a very literal sense. In 2025 it exported $450.3 billion in goods, holding its position as the nation's top exporting state for the twenty-third consecutive year. Foreign-controlled companies already employ an estimated 722,000 workers across Texas.

Yet the largest sources of foreign direct investment still come from the United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada. That leaves a significant gap for Latin American companies competing in a market where demand is already proven. The opportunity is not whether Texas is open for business; it is whether Latin America is positioned to capture its share of that business.

Another signal of the state's evolution is its growing role in capital markets. Dallas is emerging as a new financial center with progress toward the launch of the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE), while NYSE Texas and Nasdaq's regional presence reinforce that ambition. For Latin American companies, market entry is no longer limited to manufacturing or trade; it now includes access to a more dynamic investment and financing environment.

Aerial view of downtown Houston, Texas, a primary economic hub for Latin American companies

The Latino community as a competitive advantage

One of Texas's biggest advantages for Latin American companies is not only economic but demographic and cultural. Between 2010 and 2021, the Latino workforce in metropolitan Houston grew 39%, while the non-Latino workforce grew only 14% over the same period.

The state has the second-largest Latino GDP in the United States, and that base is expanding quickly: the Texas Latino economy added $147 billion between 2017 and 2022. In Houston alone, Latino GDP reached $139.5 billion, large enough to exceed the entire economy of Arkansas.

This is not a marginal trend. Latinos accounted for roughly 28% of overall U.S. economic growth despite making up only 19% of the population. Hispanic-owned businesses grew at a 34% annual rate between 2019 and 2023, and Hispanic entrepreneurship now contributes $3.2 trillion across nearly 5 million businesses.

That proximity creates a real entry advantage. In cities such as Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin, companies find bilingual labor, established distribution channels, and a consumer base that responds naturally to their value proposition. In practical terms, Texas shortens the distance between a Latin American company and the U.S. market — geographically, culturally, and operationally.

Nearshoring and the supply chain

Texas enters 2026 as one of the strongest manufacturing centers in the United States, driven by reshoring, high-tech investment, and continued industrial demand. At the same time, manufacturers face labor shortages, tariff uncertainty, cybersecurity risk, and a more moderate construction outlook. Growth will depend on execution, not momentum alone.

Houston stands out as a primary node for advanced manufacturing, particularly in AI, semiconductors, and robotics, while the rest of the state continues to benefit from logistics access, land availability, and favorable business conditions.

The state has 35 foreign trade zones and more than $240 million in port investment, reinforcing its role as a natural gateway for goods moving between Latin America and the rest of the United States. Nearshoring still matters — but only as a disciplined, flexible, well-structured strategy.

Entry structure and Texas registration

Latin American companies typically choose among a narrow set of structures — most often an LLC, a C-Corp, or a branch registration — depending on commercial objectives, tax profile, liability exposure, and operating plans. The right choice is not merely a formation question; it is a governance and compliance decision that defines how the business will function in the U.S. market.

Foreign entities transacting business in Texas must register with the Texas Secretary of State under Chapter 9 of the Texas Business Organizations Code. The filing requires the company's legal name, jurisdiction of formation, FEIN, principal office address, registered agent, registered office, and governing persons.

A company that fails to register when required can face injunctions, lose access to Texas courts, and incur civil penalties tied to the fees and taxes that would have been owed from the date registration was first required. Entry planning must therefore happen before operations begin, not after the first contract is signed.

Texas also offers meaningful structural advantages in cross-border planning. The state imposes no personal state income tax, and its franchise tax regime, while manageable, requires disciplined annual compliance. In addition, Opportunity Zone 2.0 takes effect January 1, 2027, following Treasury designations beginning in 2026, opening a new layer of potential tax incentives for capital gains invested in eligible Texas communities.

Dallas, Texas skyline, an emerging capital markets hub for Latin American investment

Key sectors for Latin American entry

Challenges and common mistakes

One of the most common problems is choosing the wrong entity or the wrong state of formation, often because the decision is copied from a template designed for another jurisdiction. A structure that looks efficient on paper can be costly if it does not align with banking needs, licensing requirements, or long-term commercial objectives.

A second problem arises in banking and treasury. Non-U.S. entities routinely underestimate the documentation, compliance, and internal controls required to open accounts, move funds, and manage cash flow in a U.S. operating environment. Tax compliance adds another layer, since companies must think simultaneously about federal obligations, Texas franchise tax, transfer pricing, and cross-border reporting such as FBAR and FATCA where applicable.

The same is true of people and operations. Hiring employees in Texas introduces HR, payroll, and employment law requirements that must be managed consistently, and accounting and legal processes need to be coordinated from day one. The companies that succeed in Texas are not always the largest or the most aggressive; they are the ones that build the right legal, financial, and operational architecture early. Texas rewards preparation and punishes improvisation.

Conclusions

For Latin American companies, Texas is not just another U.S. state; it is an expansion platform with scale, cultural familiarity, and institutional depth. The companies that succeed will be those that treat Texas entry as a strategic project rather than a tactical experiment, aligning corporate structure, tax planning, logistics, and market access from the outset.

Authors: Manrique Blen, Regional Director LATAM at Auxadi, and Jaime Collazo, Attorney at GNS Law. Download the full white paper (Spanish edition) below.

Spanish version: Expansión a Texas: Puerta de Entrada Estratégica para las Empresas Latinoamericanas.