Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Mexico Points of Entry Affirmative Novice Table of Contents-

Summary........................................................................................................................................2Glossary.........................................................................................................................................3

First Affirmative Speech..............................................................................................................4-8

Modernizing Points of Entry Boost Economy.................................................................................8Answers to: Mexico Not Key to US Growth....................................................................................9Answers to: Mexican Economy is Broken....................................................................................10

Answers to: Jobs Turn...............................................................................................................11-2

Answers to: Maquiladora Turn- Alternate Causality.....................................................................13Maquiladoras Good- Economy.....................................................................................................14Maquiladora Good- Poverty..........................................................................................................15

Answers to: No Solvency – Coordination.....................................................................................16Answers to: No Solvency- Regulatory Issues...............................................................................17Answers to: No Solvency- Infrastructure Investment Fails...........................................................18

Answers to China Crowd OutUnited States engagement in Latin America is durable................................................................19United States won’t crowd out China............................................................................................20United States won’t crowd out China- Extensions........................................................................21Chinese Influence Bad- Latin America growth and stability..........................................................22

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Summary

This affirmative argues that the United States should work with Mexico to modernize points of entry along the US-Mexico border.

First, , it will increase trade between the United States and Mexico by allowing goods to travel more swiftly between each country. This trade is necessary for economic growth and job creation, improving the quality of life for residents in both countries.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Glossary

Competitiveness- the ability of a country to sell goods in a given market

“Gang of Eight”- a bipartisan group of 8 Senators working together in Congress to craft an immigration bill that can gain enough Democratic and Republican support to pass

Hegemony- leadership exercised by one nation over others

Illicit- another word for illegal or against the law

Life expectancy- how long a member of a community is predicted to live based on their likelihood of dying from various causes like disease or other factors

Membranes- A thin, pliable layer of tissue covering surfaces or separating or connecting regions, structures, or organs of an animal or a plant.

Petroleum- a naturally occurring thick black substance that can be distilled into gasoline, motor oil, jet fuel and many other uses

Points of entry- A place where people and goods can legally cross from one country to another

Regulatory- a system of rules set up by the government to guide operations of a specific industry or activity

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Points of Entry Affirmative (1/4)

First, the current state of afffairs on the US-Mexico border.

Border corssings are not a priority. The United States’ focus on securing the entirety of the US-Mexico border means that Points of Entry into the country are underfunded. This causes massive delays when crossing from country to country.

Bloomberg News May 2013“Border Delays Cost U.S. $7.8 Billion as Fence Is Focus” By Amanda J. Crawford 5/14/13 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-15/border-delays-cost-u-s-7-8-billion-as-fence-is-focus.html

U.S. investment has remained focused on controlling the rest of the border between the crossings, including remote areas such as the Arizona desert. In the past decade, the number of Border Patrol agents more than doubled while the number of Customs and Border Protection officers, who staff the ports of entry, has remained at about the same level, according to a report by the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute and partner institutions. Congressional funding for the areas between the ports has eclipsed that for the authorized entry points since 2007, even though the crossings have faced enhanced security requirements, increasing trade and evidence that drugs and dangerous individuals are more likely to cross there, according to the Mexico Institute report. That focus continues in the current immigration debate in the Senate. The plan crafted by the so-called Gang of Eight bipartisan senators, which is being considered by the Judiciary Committee today, aims to secure Republican support by tying immigrants’ path to citizenship to the ability of the U.S. Border Patrol to stop 90 percent of illegal traffic across the southern border between the official ports of entry. There is no similar metric for the efficiency or security of the land ports. ‘Less Attention ’ “The way the border is currently run is costing the U.S. a lot in terms of jobs and the economy,” said Christopher Wilson, an associate with the Mexico Institute and co-author of his group’s report on border trade. “In the context of the current immigration debate, we are very focused on what is going on between the ports of entry while this major issue, which is about security but also about jobs and the economy, is getting a lot less attention.” Focusing politically on the rest of the border is easier than facing the challenges of running effective ports of entry, said Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based group critical of increased immigration. While the land ports probably do need more investment in infrastructure, there also should be much more stringent security, including entry and exit checks to catch those who overstay legal visits, he said. “It seems to some extent we put too much emphasis on the ease of movement across the border,” Camarota said. “The border is not simply an obstacle to be overcome by businesses and travelers. It is the part where our country begins, and it is vitally important for security and immigration control.”

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Points of Entry Affirmative (2/ 4)

These slow downs are costly to the entire country,. Properly functioning border crossings are necessary to expand US trade with Mexico. Increasing trade will result in thousands of new jobs and economic growth.

O’Neil, Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, 2013(Shannon, “U.S. Exports Depend on Mexico ” Latin America’s Moment January 11 http://blogs.cfr.org/oneil/2013/01/11/u-s-exports-depend-on-mexico/)

Surprising to many Americans is the importance of the United States’ trade with Mexico. While Asia captures the headlines, U.S. exports to Mexico are double those to China, and second only to Canada. And while many of these goods come from border states—Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California—Mexico matters for much more of the union. Seventeen states send more than 10 percent of their exports to Mexico , and it is the number one or two destination for U.S. goods for nearly half the country. The graph below shows those states most economically dependent on our southern neighbor–notice that South Dakota and Nebraska outpace New Mexico and California. These flows are only accelerating. During the first ten months of 2012 exports heading south grew by $17 billion dollars (or 10 percent) compared to 2011, reaching a total of $181 billion. They include petroleum products (some $17 billion worth) and intermediate goods such as vehicle parts, electrical apparatuses, industrial supplies, metals, and chemicals (over $40 billion combined). Spurred on by deep supply chains, these pieces and parts move fluidly back and forth across the border (often quite a few times) before ending up as finished goods on store shelves in both countries. The uptick should be seen as a good thing. According to economic studies, these exports support some six million American jobs (directly and indirectly). But to continue this dynamism, the United States and Mexico need to improve border infrastructure and facilitate flows. This means expanding border crossings and highways, and harmonizing regulations and customs to make the process easier and faster. Prioritizing and investing in bilateral trade will provide greater opportunity and security–for U.S. companies and workers alike.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Points of Entry Affirmative (3/ 4)

Economic growth is good for everyone. Growth increases life expectancy, education and quality of life while allowing the government to fund programs for the public good.

Furchtgott-Roth, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and former chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor, 2013(Diana, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and former chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor, “Only Growth Can Sustain Us” New York Times, February 14, http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/01/16/when-growth-is-not-a-good-goal/only-growth-can-sustain-us)

Economic growth raises standards of living for rich and poor countries alike. The more growth, the better.

In developing countries, higher G.D.P. growth results in lower infant mortality, running water, sewer systems, electricity, better schools and education for children, as can be seen from comparative World Bank data. As electric power plants replace wood stoves, the air is cleared of smog. As girls receive more education, birth rates naturally decline as women choose to make use of their human capital by entering the labor force.

In developed countries, economic growth gives us the tax revenue for cleaner air and water, for missile defense, for health and education programs. Stringent Environmental Protection Agency regulations do not come cheap. Republicans and Democrats both have extensive wish lists for favorite government programs, and the only way to pay for these is from the tax revenue from economic growth.

Here in America, we have all the food we can eat, and more clothes than we can fit in our closets. At the same time, we’re seeing deteriorating family structures that reduce educational performance. About three-quarters of poor families with children are headed by a single parent. Poor children may have cellphones, but they need competitive schools (like KIPP) to make sure they do not fall behind.

Our parents and grandparents are requiring more support as their life expectancies increase. People who live into their 80s and 90s need not just more medical services, but more technology and health aides to be comfortable at home. This also takes economic growth.

Henry Thoreau may be right that we can find God in nature. But it takes economic growth to keep nature pristine and all of us healthy enough to enjoy it.

Thus, we propose the following plan:

The United States federal government should cooperate with the government of Mexico to modernize points of entry along the US-Mexico border.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Points of Entry Affirmative (4/4)

Finally we will explain how our plan resolves this problem.

Mexico is a ready and willing partner for border infrastructure improvements, but the United States has to act first. Improving border crossing will lead to millions in new trading opportunities.

O’Neil, Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations , 2013 (Shannon, “Mexico Makes It: A Transformed Society, Economy, and Government” March/April 2013 Foreign Affairs http://www.cfr.org/mexico/mexico-makes/p30098)

. Admittedly, this process has sent some U.S. jobs south, but overall, cross-border production is good for U.S. employment. There is evidence that U.S. companies with overseas operations are more likely to create domestic jobs than those based solely in the United States. Using data collected confidentially from thousands of large U.S. manufacturing firms, the scholars Mihir Desai, C. Fritz Foley, and James Hines upended the conventional wisdom in a 2008 study, which found that when companies ramp up their investment and employment internationally, they invest more and hire more people at home, too. Overseas operations make companies more productive and competitive, and with improved products, lower prices, and higher sales, they are able to create new jobs everywhere. Washington should welcome the expansion of U.S. companies in Mexico because increasing cross-border production and trade between the two countries would boost U.S. employment and growth. Mexico is a ready, willing, and able economic partner, with which the United States has closer ties than it does with any other emerging-market country. Familial and communal ties also unite the United States and Mexico. The number of Mexican immigrants in the United States doubled in the 1980s and then doubled again in the 1990s. Fleeing poor economic and employment conditions in Mexico and attracted by labor demand and family and community members already in the United States, an estimated ten million Mexicans have come north over the past three decades. This flow has recently slowed, thanks to changing demographics and economic improvements in Mexico and a weakening U.S. economy. Still, some 12 million Mexicans and over 30 million Mexican Americans call the United States home. For all these reasons, the United States should strengthen its relationship with its neighbor, starting with immigration laws that support the binational individuals and communities that already exist in the United States and encourage the legal immigration of Mexican workers and their families. U.S. President Barack Obama has promised to send such legislation to Congress, but a strong anti-immigrant wing within the Republican Party and the slow U.S. economic recovery pose significant barriers to a comprehensive and far-reaching deal. Nevertheless, the United States and Mexico urgently need to invest in border infrastructure, standardize their customs forms, and work to better facilitate legal trade between them. Furthermore, getting Americans to recognize the benefits of cross-border production will be an uphill battle, but it is one worth fighting in order to boost the United States' exports, jobs, and overall economic growth.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Modernizing Points of Entry Boost Economy

[ ] Infrastructure related POE delays cause billions of economic losses across all economic sectors

Immigration Policy Center 5/12/13 “A border fence will hurt the economic relationship of Mexico and U.S.” Posted on VOXXI http://www.voxxi.com/border-fence-economic-relation-mexico-us/#ixzz2TJmDyq16

Longer wait times at land ports of entry, due in part to heightened security along the border, can have a number of economic effects. Longer border crossing wait times may deter people from choosing to cross the border in terms of shopping trips or other optional crossings (particularly the case for the busiest crossing areas in bi-national metropolitan regions such as San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, both near San Diego/Tijuana, El Paso/Ciudad Juarez, Laredo/Nuevo Laredo and McAllen/Hidalgo/Reynosa). Longer wait times equate to fewer border crossings, less spending in cross-border communities and potentially fewer job opportunities in service industries in those communities. Manufacturers and production facilities in the United States who rely upon a just-in-time delivery model of inventory management can be significantly impacted by delays their cargo carriers encounter at the border. In some cases, severe delays of needed components can cause production-line shutdowns and a subsequent backlog of orders. Long wait times also lead to more congestion, and more air pollution, at border stations. Such outcomes have significant social, economic and environmental health concerns for border crossers, port of entry employees and border residents. 47 land ports of entry facilitate hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S.-Mexico trade every year. Improved infrastructure at the land ports of entry along the southern border, including additional traffic lanes and processing personnel, would allow more efficient border crossing. These improvements translate into direct economic benefits to border communities and states.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Answers to: Mexico Not Key to US Growth

[ ]

[ ] Opening up transport between the US and Mexico can help bring jobs back to America and increase manufacturing in the both countries

Hernandez, logistics expert and former central Mexico regional director at Autotransportes de Carga Tresguerras SA de CV 2012 (Enrique Almanza, “Mexican Logistics Expert Discusses NAFTA Roadblocks and Cross-Border Trucking Restrictions”, June 26, http://www.supplychainbrain.com/content/world-regions/latin-america/single-article-page/article/director-of-mexican-carrier-discusses-nafta-roadblocks-and-cross-border-trucking-restrictions/)

SLATON: Your company is a Mexican nationwide less-than-truckload and full truckload carrier. You maintain interchange freight agreements with U.S carriers and offer border crossing and full service coverage throughout the United States and Canada. What are your thoughts on how NAFTA or other U.S. or Mexican transportation legislation might affect your long-term opportunities and prospects? HERNANDEZ: Ground transportation is of significant economic and strategic importance to North American trade - especially as reshoring and nearshoring start to take hold. In 1995, NAFTA was set up to liberalize freight transport across Mexico, the United States and Canada; encourage infrastructure investment; and secure speedy, efficient flow of goods across North America. But NAFTA's limited success has led to a partial and inadequate integration of the supply chains between Mexico and the rest of North America, where goods do circulate, but without the necessary speed or efficiency. Today, transporting a product amongst the NAFTA countries can easily involve freight handling or information exchange between three to four different stakeholders (carriers, brokers, custom-house agents, etc.), each of which adds to delays and higher supply chain costs. This ultimately increases overall inventory levels and the final product prices. These repercussions affect both the competitiveness of the products transported between NAFTA regions and the transportation services; impede opportunities to reach new markets; and eliminate the incentives for transport companies to be more efficient, innovative and competitive - a goal any company should strive towards if they want to excel in a larger market with tougher competition.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Answers to: Mexican Economy is Broken

[ ]

[ ] Sustained growth opportunities can transform the Mexican economy.Rubio, director general of CIDAC (Center of Research for Development) 2013(Luis, “Mexico Matters: Change in Mexico and Its Impact Upon the United States”, Wilson Center April 12 http://wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/rubio_mexico_matters.pdf)

Thoughts about how to overturn the status quo often end up with proposals for reform that do not solve the problems but nonetheless have the effect of raising expectations to untenable levels. Many of the proposed economic reforms do not address the relevant problems. The same is true in the political arena: most reform proposals are not designed to give access to citizenship but to redistribute power among those who are already powerful and in control of key levers of power or wealth. There is a direct link between democracy and markets but, as Carlos Heredia argues, “In Mexico we have something, but not a free market.”2 The country is stuck between the remains of the old political system and a protected industrial sector next to a highly modern, productive and successful forward-looking export sector oriented toward the global economy. This cohabitation has not been a happy one and the government has been incapable of creating a competitive environment where all companies, as well as citizens and their organizations, have a reasonable chance of success. Mexico’s true challenge dwells in stopping contesting the past and moving on to the future. An improved economic outlook would help move the country away from endless ideological bickering and, as Einstein would have it, once one starts riding a bicycle, “to keep your balance you must keep moving”. The key to the future lies in breaking the inertia and creating a momentum. The recipe for success lies not in specific changes, but in creating conditions that make it not only possible, but inevitable. All successful nations share three common denominators: effective leadership within proper counterweights, clarity of purpose, and continuity. A new administration is always an opportunity to break away from both the real and the mental hindrances to change. Peña-Nieto has before him a huge challenge, but also an immense opportunity.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Answers to: Jobs Turn

[ ]

[ ] Increased border efficiency stimulates manufacturing growth in the USO’Neil, Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), 2013(Shannon, “Economic Change on Mexico’s Horizon”, Latin America’s Moment, http://blogs.cfr.org/oneil/2013/03/26/economic-change-on-mexicos-horizon/)

And we’ve already seen a lot of investment, particularly with U.S. manufacturers in Mexico, despite many of the country’s problems. Many factories in the United States depend on those in Mexico—there are pieces and parts that are crossing the border every day that allow a company, in the end, to create a globally competitive product. This is already the reality, but the question going forward is: Can the United States make the most of this and make it even easier for these companies to grow by facilitating trade with Mexico? Rather than thinking about cutting back this trade, we should recognize that Mexico helps support U.S. workers because trade grows the overall pie for these companies. A rising tide on both sides of the border lifts all boats.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Answers to: Jobs Turn

[ ] Border improvements would have a multiplier effect – they could stimulate economic growth across multiple sectorsWilson & Lee 2013 Erik, Associate Director at the North American Center for Transborder Studies (NACTS) at Arizona State University, Christopher E, Associate at the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars “INTRODUCTION” The State of The Border report: A Comprehensive Analysis of the U.S.-Mexico Border Border Research Partnership May 2013 http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/mexico_state_of_border.pdf

Though far from easy to achieve, success in managing the intense interaction and incredible diversity that make up the border is invaluable. It ripples outward. Of course, the 15 million people that live in the counties and municipalities along the border benefit enormously when the border is working. So do the 91 million residents of the border states who depend on the air, water and commerce that flow across the border. But far beyond the border, the six million people throughout the United States and many millions more in Mexico with jobs supported by bilateral trade depend in a very real way on the border’s ability to safely facilitate binational flows of people and goods. For them, an efficient border means a steady job, and an even more efficient border can lead to greater employment opportunities. Indeed, the competitiveness of the entire North American economy depends on the border. Should major advances in border management take root, the benefits of a better border have the potential to ripple out even further. Cross-border cooperation could send a signal that the complex transnational challenges that characterize the 21st century are better met in a context of mutual respect and shared responsibility than one of conflict and nationalism. Border management is difficult, but it is worth the effort.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Answers to: Maquiladora Turn - Alternate Causality

[ ]

[ ] Companies are relocating due to cheaper labor costs, not production costs.Ruelas-Gossi, Professor of Strategy and Director of Adolfo Ibañez School of Management , 2010(Alejandro, “Mexico's Maquiladora Syndrome”, Harvard Business Review Blog Network, 10-15, http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/10/mexicos_maquiladora_syndrome.html)

In recent times, Mexico's maquiladora industry has started losing out to countries with even cheaper labor forces such as China, Malaysia, India, and Vietnam. Policy-makers in those nations may want to remember Mexico's experience, but the change may not be a bad thing if it forces Mexican companies to increase the numerator by becoming more innovative and strategic for the next 200 years.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Maquiladoras Good- Economy

[ ] Maquiladoras boost economies and provide jobs for Mexican growing work force.Beck, Proferssor of International Business at UT- Pan American, 2012 (Allan, “Forces Driving Maquiladoras Along The Border Of Mexico And The United States: A Short Communication, December”, http://www.cluteonline.com/journals/index.php/IBER/article/view/7415/7483, date accessed 7/2/13,)

By 1965, the Bracero, or guest worker, program ended in the United States and the Border Industrialization Program was established by Mexico as a means of replacing lost jobs by attracting investments and creating opportunities by setting up a process that allowed temporary import duty free and only taxing the value of added portion of transactions (Eldenberg, Roman, & Teruya, 2007). The Border Industrialization Program laid the groundwork for the maquiladora program, which was legally established in 1971. Many U.S. companies started manufacturing on the northern border of Mexico because the arrangement allowed companies to take advantage of the lower Mexico wage rate.¶ The arrangement worked well and manufacturing became an important part of the Mexican economy. The maquiladoras represent a good source of foreign direct investment and earnings for many Mexican citizens (Truett and Truett, 2007). Recent downturns in maquiladora employment has hurt the economy because the continual growth experienced until 2000 was creating the required one million jobs a year to keep up with the new young worker additions from population growth (Walkkirch, Nunnenkamp, & Alatorre Bremont, 2009). The border area also had an abundance of workers as it attracted laborers from well within the interior (Mendoza, 2010).

[ ] Manufacturing jobs lift Mexican workers out of poverty.Sterman, investment analyst, 2012(David, “Forget China: Mexico Is A Better Investment”, Seeking Alpha, February 12, http://seekingalpha.com/article/359721-forget-china-mexico-is-a-better-investment)

Rising exports are creating myriad benefits from Mexico. First, thousands of workers are finding jobs in factories each year, pushing them from subsistence living into the lower middle class. That boosts demand for all consumer-facing businesses. Second, the firms that transport goods are seeing a rise in business. Lastly, the government is able to secure rising tax receipts, which is crucial when you consider that government-owned energy giant Pemex is seeing falling output in key energy fields, leading to reduced remittances to the government.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Maquiladora Good- Poverty

[ ] Maquiladora’s help raise wage levels for entire region, overall improvement for workers in border region.

Coleman, Department of Geography at UCLA, 2005(M., “U.S. statecraft and the U.S.–Mexico border as security/economy nexus”, Political Geography, Vol. 24, Issue 2, February, p. 185-209, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096262980400126X)

Our analysis has demonstrated that foreign investment and export production have a positive effect on wages in Mexico: Not only do foreign and export-oriented firms pay workers significantly more than other firms even after controlling for other relevant firm and worker characteristics, but they also appear to raise regional wage levels.15 It might at first seem difficult to reconcile these positive effects of foreign and export firms on workers’ wages in Mexico with the harmful effects of foreign investment and export production found by researchers using cross-national research methods. Over the past two decades, researchers in the dependency theory tradition and many others have found foreign direct investment and export production to be associated with increasing levels of inequality at the national level (Bornschier and Chase-Dunn, 1985 and Alderson and Nielsen, 1999). However, the results of our statistical analysis are actually consistent with those of researchers using cross-national research methods. As we noted earlier, foreign firms may increase income inequality even while they raise wages. They may increase inequality in three different ways: First, by paying higher wages, foreign firms create a gap between workers employed in the foreign and domestic sectors. Second, our analysis further revealed higher wage premiums for workers in higher occupational groups. By raising the wages of white-collar workers and managers more than those of blue-collar workers, foreign firms may therefore be worsening an already unequal income distribution. Finally, the results of our spillover models suggest that workers in regions of the country with a greater presence of foreign investment receive higher wages. Since foreign firms are more likely to operate in certain states such as those located near the US border, foreign investment flows may also be increasing inequality across regions. All these findings are highly suggestive of a positive association between foreign investment and income inequality in Mexico. However, a proper test of the effect that foreign firms have on the income distribution requires more detailed information than currently available in our surveys. Our study does, however, demonstrate that foreign investment may simultaneously raise average wage levels and increase inequality, thereby reconciling findings from previous studies.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Answers to: No Solvency – Coordination

[ ]

[ ] Cooperation on border crossing can overcome coordination issues.

Regan, Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, 2011 (Sean, Commander, “U.S. – MEXICO POLICY COORDINATION AN ASSESSMENT OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY BORDER POLICY COORDINATION EFFORT” A paper submitted to the Faculty of the Naval War College in partial satisfaction of the requirements of the Department of Joint Military Operations, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a555536.pdf)

Each department and agency has distinct purposes and authorities that span issues ranging from law enforcement to commerce management. Sporadic and disjointed efforts result in departments working toward common end-states (i.e. improved POE development) but doing so in an uncoordinated and non-supporting manner. National efforts to synchronize a whole-of-government approach have been haphazard. Across the border, the GoM has its own bureaucratic structure but suffers from the same challenges. These federal-level challenges are both independent of and repeated within, the numerous state and local agencies that have their own policies and processes. Enhancing coordination among the stakeholders involved in the crossing process provides an opportunity to achieve many benefits including increased security, and reduced system costs through a predictable and coordinated policy structure.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Answers to: No Solvency- Regulatory Issues

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[ ] Border delays impose a higher cost on business than truck regulations.

United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, 2011(“U.S.-MEXICO TRUCKING ISSUE WHITE PAPER”, http://www.usmcoc.org/papers-current/4-Trucking-Issue-White-Paper.pdf)

The U.S.-México Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the passage and implementation of the 2011 Trucking Pilot Program. We believe that any barriers to trade are harmful to the economic well-being of both countries and thus should be removed. This pilot program, however, is just one piece of the puzzle for making the border more efficient and agile. There are still severe wait times for cargo trucks crossing from México into the United States, costing both countries billions of dollars every year. Some ideas for addressing this issue include, but are not limited to: • Opening up more border crossings for both people and goods; • Extending the already existing crossings’ operating times to include evening hours;• Requiring customs brokers on both sides to be open for business and to carry out the export and import procedures at all times when the border is open;• Altering the trusted shipper (such as C-TPAT) lanes so that they are completely separate from the rest of the crossings, thus truly making them express lanes;• Increasing the number of pre-border inspection and clearance sites, where cargo destined for the United States is inspected in Mexico.Finally, we would stress that border security should not be compromised by the implementation of any of these next steps.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Answers to: No Solvency- Infrastructure Investment Fails

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[ ] Increasing resources for border infrastructure will allow effective transit and security.

Pacheco, Executive Director of the International Business Accelerator, 2012(Jerry “Efficient border crossings crucial to trade” ABQ Journal http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/08/06/biz/outlook/efficient-border-crossings-crucial-to-trade.html)

The U.S., Mexico and Canada are trade partners under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has helped create a trade bloc of 460 million people with a combined output of more than $17 trillion. Since its implementation in 1994, trade among the NAFTA partners has grown by 460 percent, making North America one of the most successful and dynamic trade blocs in the world. However, wait times to cross the U.S.-Mexico border result in billions of dollars of lost revenues and time every year, impinging on our region’s competitiveness. This happens both at the commercial and retail level, as millions of Mexicans cross the border into the U.S. for shopping, entertainment and visiting family. Excessive crossing delays dissuade these trips. The Port of Santa Teresa has traditionally been a port known for rapid crossings, but as trade volume and the number of people crossing increases, it is becoming as congested as other busy ports along the U.S.-Mexico border. A renovation is currently taking place at this port to add two more private vehicle lanes and one more commercial crossing lane, which should help alleviate waits in the future. Expediting trade and border crossings is an issue discussed by politicians less than the hot-button issue of security. However, for the economic future of all three NAFTA countries this is an issue that merits more focus. It behooves the U.S. government to provide CBP with the tools, personnel and infrastructure it needs to continue guarding our nation’s borders, while working with this group to develop quicker ways of moving people and merchandise.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

United States engagement in Latin America is durable

[ ] US influence in Latin America’s resilient and the theory of their argument is wrong

Duddy and Mora, Former US Ambassador to Venezuela and former Assistant Secretary of Defense,Western Hemisphere, 2013[Patrick and Frank, “Latin America: Is U.S. influence waning?” Miami Herald, 5/1/13 http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/01/3375160/latin-america-is-us-influence.html#storylink=cpy]

Finally, one should not underestimate the resiliency of U.S. soft power in the region. The power of national reputation, popular culture, values and institutions continues to contribute to U.S. influence in ways that are difficult to measure and impossible to quantify. Example: Despite 14 years of strident anti-American rhetoric during the Chávez government, tens of thousand of Venezuelans apply for U.S. nonimmigrant visas every year, including many thousands of Chávez loyalists.¶ Does this mean we can feel comfortable relegating U.S. relations with the hemisphere to the second or third tier of our international concerns? Certainly not. We have real and proliferating interests in the region. As the president and his team head to Mexico and Costa Rica, it is important to recognize the importance of our ties to the region.¶ We have many individual national partners in the Americas. We don’t need a new template for relations with the hemisphere as a whole or another grand U.S.-Latin America strategy. A greater commitment to work more intensely with the individual countries on the issues most relevant to them would be appropriate. The United States still has the economic and cultural heft in the region to play a fundamental role and to advance its own interests.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

United States won’t crowd out China

[ ] No trade-off – the plan facilitates a three way relationship – that helps all countries.

Shaiken et al, Professor in the Center for Latin American Studies at UC-Berkeley, 2013[Harley, and Enrique Peters – Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Miami. And Adrian Hearn – Centro de Estudios China-Mexixo at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. China and the New Triangular Relationships in the Americas: China and the Future of US-Mexico Relations, 2013. Pg 7-8]

The analysis of Ping Wang highlights that in the Mexico-US-China triangular trade relationship, the United States is the key player. While China’s presence has increased, the United States remains a critical influence on both Mexico and China. Furthermore, the author suggests that China’s rise and emergence in terms of trade and investments in LAC, and specifically in regards to this triangular relationship, will slow increasingly in the future, considering its specialization in industrial commodities and products, rising wages in China, and the high number of multinational corporations involved in Chinese exports. For Ping Wang, the politically and historically subordinated role of Mexico with the United States, in contrast to China’s increasing regional and global status, is a basis for understanding future scenarios in which the Mexico-United States relationship is more stable in comparison to that of China and the United States (where the US, for example, views China as a threat).

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

United States won’t crowd out China- Extensions

[ ]

[ ]US and China influences do not trade off in Mexico.

Xiaoxia, Staff Writer for the Economic Observer, 5-6[Wang.. “In America's Backyard: China's Rising Influence In Latin America” The Economic Observer, 5/6/13 http://worldcrunch.com/china-2.0/in-america-039-s-backyard-china-039-s-rising-influence-in-latin-america/foreign-policy-trade-economy-investments-energy/c9s11647/ ]

For South America, China and the United States, this is not a zero-sum game, but a multiple choice of mutual benefits and synergies. Even if China has become the Latin American economy’s new upstart, it is still not in a position to challenge the strong and diverse influence that the United States has accumulated over two centuries in the region.

[ ] No competition for regional influence Xiaoxia, reporter, 2013(Wang, Translated by Laura Lin, “In America’s Backyard: China in Latin America”, Economic Observer Oneline, 4/27, http://www.eeo.com.cn/ens/2013/0507/243704.shtml, CMR)

China's involvement in Latin America doesn’t constitute a threat to the United States, but brings benefits. It is precisely because China has reached "loans-for-oil" swap agreements with Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and other countries that it brings much-needed funds to these oil-producing countries in South America. Not only have these funds been used in the field of oil production, but they have also safeguarded the energy supply of the United States, as well as stabilized these countries' livelihood; and to a certain extent reduced the impact of illegal immigration and the drug trade on the U.S.¶ For South America, China and the United States, this is not a zero-sum game, but a multiple choice of mutual benefits and synergies. Even if China has become the Latin American economy’s new upstart, it is still not in a position to challenge the strong and diverse influence that the United States has accumulated over two centuries in the region.

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Points of Entry Affirmative Urban Debate League 2013-14Novice

Chinese Influence Bad - Latin America growth and stability

[ ] Chinese influence in Latin America is bad – trade deficits, income inequality and political instability would spread across the region.

Shaiken et al, Professor in the Center for Latin American Studies at UC-Berkeley, 2013[Harley, and Enrique Peters – Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Miami. And Adrian Hearn – Centro de Estudios China-Mexixo at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. China and the New Triangular Relationships in the Americas: China and the Future of US-Mexico Relations, 2013. Pg 7-8]

However, closer ties to China also have signifi cant disadvantages for both Latin America and the United States:¶ Growing trade deficits. Latin American lead ers who sign trade and investment deals with the PRC have noticed that China's exports are more affordable than their own goods, which contributes to trade deficits. Chinese goods are made by laborers who work for one-third of the wages of Latin American counterparts and who tolerate worse working conditions. Officials in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico have signaled their unease about trade with such a hot competitor. In September 2005, Mexican President Vicente Fox made it clear to visiting President Hu Jintao that dumping electronics and clothing was unacceptable. For every dollar that Mexico makes from exports to China, the PRC makes $31 from exports to Mexico.[9]¶ Disinterest in economic reform. Some analysts believe that the commodities-based trade model used by China will undermine the progress that Latin America has made toward industrialization. While countries like Chile and Brazil have moved beyond raw materials exports, others with powerful presidents or ruling oligarchies may be tempted to fall back on plantation economics. Income gaps between the rich and poor may widen as a result. Moreover, such narrowly focused economies are vul nerable to downturns in commodity prices. Some 44 percent of Latin Americans already live below the poverty line. If these countries fail to adopt reforms, social inequality and political instability could depress U.S. exports to the region and increase migration problems

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