Assessing the potential for Gulf Coast NAFTA maritime trade corridors.
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2015-12-01
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Abstract:The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was enacted in 1994 with the expressed intent of
reducing barriers to trade. Since that time, however, transborder congestion and delays between the United
States (US) and Mexico threaten achievement of this goal. As a partial mitigation strategy, maritime
shipping offers a modal alternative for NAFTA trade with the potential for not only strengthening the
resiliency of the North American transportation system, but also alleviating congestion for traditional
overland modes. To that end, Gulf Coast economies are preparing for increased shipping activity in both
vessel size and commodity volumes upon completion of the Panama Canal expansion by 2016. This study
assesses the potential for maritime shipping corridors in the Gulf of Mexico between the US, Mexico, and
Cuba. We document current trade patterns and infrastructure, analyze potential opportunities for trade
expansion, and analyze the policy barriers that need to be addressed to strengthen these maritime trade
corridors. The prospect of reduced transborder congestion, increased system resilience, and expanded
economic cooperation with Cuba has opened a policy window for more deliberate coordination between
national and state governments to make the necessary infrastructure investments and policy changes to
bolster maritime shipping capacity.
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