Posted on 10/07/2006 3:56:30 AM PDT by Man50D
WASHINGTON – There are mixed signals coming from Mexico about the fate of a proposed mega-port in Baja California for mainly Chinese goods that would be shipped on rail lines and "NAFTA superhighways" running through the U.S. to Canada.
The port at Punta Colonet, planned as a major container facility to transfer Asian goods into America's heartland, got at least a temporary setback when a Mexican businessman announced a competing project in which he was seeking to secure mineral rights in the area.
Gabriel Chavez, originally one of the principal movers behind the port plan, now says there are significant amounts of titanium and iron to be mined offshore – a project he considers more important than the port.
Mexican ports czar Cesar Patricio Reyes placed a moratorium on further work toward port planning for three or four months while the government explores ways to make everyone happy.
It is no secret the Mexican government is still committed to the port plan. A map from the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies shows the proposed goods route into a North American community.
According to transportation officials in Arizona, one of the sites considered for a rail line from Punta Colonet, the Mexican government has released an official directive stating its intention to create a new marine facility there -- about 150 miles south of the U.S. border.
The port at Punta Colonet, when completed, is expected to rival the biggest West Coast ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, both heavily congested now.
Bringing goods into a Mexican port would mean lower costs for foreign shippers because of cheaper labor and less restrictive environmental regulations.
Hutchison Ports Mexico, a subsidiary of the Chinese company Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., is keeping reports about progress on the venture close to the vest.
Only recently has the port become a source of controversy in the U.S. as Americans begin questioning highway and rail projects criss-crossing the country – many of which are designed to carry product from Mexico to the U.S. and Canada on the so-called "NAFTA superhighways."
Resentment is building inside the U.S. because of what appear to be secretive plans made outside normal government policymaking channels about immigration, border policies, transportation and integration of the three North American nations.
Transportation Secretary Maria Cino has promised to release plans within months for a one-year, NAFTA pilot program permitting Mexican truckers beyond the limited commercial zone to which they are currently restricted.
The program will likely involve about 100 Mexican trucking companies, the Department of Transportation says.
Under the North American Free Trade Agreement – NAFTA – the borders were to open partially to truckers from both countries in 1995. Full access was promised by 2000. Because of the restrictions on Mexican trucks, the Mexican government has imposed limits on U.S. truckers.
The U.S. restrictions were placed by the Clinton administration in response to demands from the Teamsters union, which said Mexican trucks posed safety and environmental risks. Currently, the U.S. permits Mexican truckers only in commercial zones close to the border that extend no further than 20 miles from Mexico.
While the American Trucking Association supports opening the border, other unions have joined in opposition with the Teamsters. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association came out this month in opposition to any Mexican truck pilot program.
Todd Spencer, the association's executive vice president, said the program would jeopardize safety on U.S. roads and would lead to an influx of cheap Mexican labor.
"A move by the U.S. Department of Transportation to open U.S. roadways to Mexican trucks puts the interest of foreign trade and cheap labor ahead of everything else, including highway safety, homeland security and the well being of hardworking Americans," Spencer said.
In a letter to the Interstate Trade Commission, Spencer wrote: "The net effect of admission of Mexican trucks into the U.S. marketplace would undoubtedly be negative. The supposed benefits to consumers from speculative reductions in shipping rates would be offset by the societal costs that are difficult to measure, but are easy to identify."
Raising more suspicions that such plans are leading to a future integration of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, a high-level, top-secret meeting of the North American Forum took place this month in Banff – with topics ranging from "A Vision for North America," "Opportunities for Security Cooperation" and "Demographic and Social Dimensions of North American Integration."
Despite "confirmed" participants including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of State George Shultz, former Central Intelligence Agency Director R. James Woolsey, former Immigration and Naturalization Services Director Doris Meissner, North American Union guru Robert Pastor, former Defense Secretary William Perry, former Energy Secretary and Defense Secretary James Schlesinger and top officials of both Mexico and Canada, there has been no press coverage of the event. The only media member scheduled to appear at the event, according to documents obtained by WND, was the Wall Street Journal's Mary Anastasia O'Grady.
The event was organized by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and the Canada West Foundation, an Alberta think-tank that promotes closer economic integration with the United States.
The Canadian event is just the latest of a series of meetings, policy papers and directives that have citizens, officials and members of the media wondering whether these efforts represent some sort of coordinated effort to implement a "merger" some have characterized as "NAFTA on steroids."
Last week, government documents released by a Freedom of Information Act request revealed the Bush administration is running what some observers see as a "shadow government" with Mexico and Canada in which the U.S. is crafting a broad range of policy in conjunction with its neighbors to the north and south.
There are always those who won't get it until they are in servitude or bondage.
Just once, I'd like to see the job finished, instead of lurching from project to project, and firing rhetorical blanks.
You have it right here if you can follow a link, oh, but I guess you are in brain lock. LOL!
Paul Ross: The Earth is flat.
1rudeboy: Oh, really? Prove it.
Paul Ross: Look it up yourself.
No, you just go and prove to everyone what a thugs you are. Devoid of facts, and rhetorically disengenuous. Time wastrels, and thread crappers.
Time wastrel-- it's too kind, I think.
How much are they paying you to make up this stuff?
In ameros? or dollars?
"As for your pathetic last gasping argument you then demand proof from me, when you still haven't read anything (still further confirming my point):"
I was also bombarded by some who were unable to read and look up relevant info. I am not in to spoon feeding posters.
I inadvertly found this article from the state department. To my knowledge it hasn't been posted on FR.
FYI
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/73324.htm
Press Statement
Sean McCormack, Spokesman
Washington, DC
September 28, 2006
U.S. Increases Support for Labor and Environmental Protection Improvements in Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement Countries
The Department of State announced today that the U.S. government will commit $39.6 million in 2006 to help Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) member countries enhance labor and environmental protection practices, to ensure that the broad spectrum of CAFTA-DR societies benefit from free trade.
The funded projects will complement initiatives now underway in these areas that received $19.84 million in support in 2005. Projects to be funded are both local and regional in scope, and were identified in consultation with member state governments to ensure they address priorities specific to each country. Of the 2006 funding, $21.1 million will be devoted to the area of labor, in programs to:
strengthen labor ministries by professionalizing labor inspectorates and by partnering with local organizations to increase the efficiency of the complaint handling process within the Ministry of Labor;
strengthen the effectiveness of countries’ judicial systems to enforce existing labor laws;
eliminate gender and other types of discrimination in the workplace;
enhance benchmarking and verification procedures;
support the development of a culture of compliance with labor laws; and
reduce chemical risks to agricultural workers from pesticides.
From the 2006 funds, $18.5 million will go to environment projects to:
improve the implementation and enforcement of environmental laws;
enhance biodiversity and conservation;
promote market-based conservation such as sustainable tourism and sustainable agricultural and forest products;
increase private sector environmental performance; and
address specific CAFTA-DR obligations that promote public participation and effective enforcement of environmental laws.
2006/879
Released on September 28, 2006
http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rls/rm/2006/73727.htm
Democracy in the Americas
Ambassador John F. Maisto, U.S. Permanent Representative to the OAS Remarks at the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights San Jose, Costa Rica September 28, 2006
excerpt....
And what I call "giving teeth" to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. To that end, I am pleased to note that earlier this month the U.S. announced a grant to the OAS, in the amount of $1,042,750 to establish an Inter-American Anti-Corruption Fund that will support OAS member states in fulfilling their commitments under the Convention.
excerpt....
We are working to meet rising expectations. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the Bush administration has doubled its official foreign assistance since coming into office ($862,452,000 in FY2001 to $1,819,423,000 in FY2005), and the figure has tripled since 1997 ($681,426,000).
On top of these levels, we are making new funds available through the Millennium Challenge Account which builds on the Monterrey Consensus--articulated at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico in March 2002--which states that those countries that implement sound economic policies, promote good governance, and strengthen the rule of law will receive the support of the international community. Last year, we signed compacts with Honduras for $215 million to improve road infrastructure and agricultural diversification and market access; and with Nicaragua for $175 million to improve property rights, infrastructure and competitiveness of rural businesses. We are negotiating a compact with El Salvador and devoting $35 million to help Paraguay fight corruption and improve its business climate.
excerpt
Remittances are another Summit success story: a total of $60 billion is expected to flow to the region in 2006, with over 75% coming from the United States. Our efforts with Mexico, working with banks in both countries, dropped remittance costs by up to half. We need to expand programs to channel remittances into investment in local poor communities.
---------------------------------------------------------- It is a long read. Too much for some.
I'll be back later.
Here is the link to the State Department again:
http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rls/rm/2006/73727.htm
How much are they paying you? Everybody knows the NAU conspiracy theorists are a government conspiracy.
Because you don't know how. Just imagine, if you can, if you could actually back-up an assertion . . . you wouldn't have to be on defense all the time. It's no problem though, as long as you refuse to substantiate your claims, there will be someone to point it out.
This a complete and total misuse of taxpayer funds. Everyone involved should be prosecuted.
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