Despite a massive surplus in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund – Port Maintenance is underfunded now
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- Specifically to China – it depends on US agriculture to maintain food security
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Contention Three – AgriculturePort infrastructure is critical to agriculture exportsDepartment of Agriculture 12 (January, “A Reliable Waterway System Is Important to Agriculture” http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5063401, ML) Big Picture Overview U.S. agriculture is expected to contribute $26.5 billion to the U.S. balance of trade in fiscal 2012 (USDA ERS/FAS Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade, November 30, 2011). Exports are forecast to reach $132 billion, while imports are forecast to reach $105.5 billion. Forestry and fishery products, and critical farm inputs such as fertilizer, feed, and fuel move on the waterway system as well. Secretary Vilsack noted that every $1 billion in farm exports supports roughly 8,400 jobs in the United States. In calendar year 2010, 81 percent of U.S. agricultural exports (158 million metric tons), and 77 percent of imports (37 million metric tons) were waterborne (Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, and PIERS). Exporters, importers, and domestic shippers depend on authorized port and waterway depths and widths, and locks and dam infrastructure. U.S. importers and certain domestic shippers pay the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT), a 0.125 percent ad valorem tax on the value of the cargo. Estimated fiscal 2012 HMT revenues and investment interest are $1.7 billion. Requested transfers from the fund are $869 million, yielding a year-end balance of $7.2 billion. In 2011 $84 million in revenues and investment interest from a 20 cents per gallon tax on diesel fuel for commercial vessels engaged in inland waterways transportation goes into the Inland Waterways Trust Fund to finance one half the Federal costs of authorized locks and dams projects. Fiscal 2011 transfers included $97.2 million from the fund and $74 million is requested for fiscal 2012. In fiscal 2010, U.S.-flag vessels earned $382 million from 2.5 million metric tons of U.S. humanitarian food aid under cargo preference law. Cargo preference helps provide U.S. seafarer and vessel availability in wartime and other national emergencies. Specifically to China – it depends on US agriculture to maintain food securityClayton, DTN Ag Policy Editor, 11 (Chris, 12/7/11, http://agfax.com/2011/12/07/facing-global-risks-ags-dependence-on-the-chinese-economy/, accessed on 6/27/12, EW) The relationship between U.S. farm exports and the state of China’s economy means American agriculture’s risks accumulate along with risks that could slow China’s growth. Global economics highlighted the opening general sessions Wednesday at the DTN/The Progressive Farmer Ag Summit in downtown Chicago. The theme of this year’s Ag Summit is “Rebalancing Risk and Reward.” A year of strong commodity prices and farm incomes suggests a balance that tipped toward the reward side of the scale, a fact reflected in summit attendance of nearly 650 registrants. With China advancing to become the top customer for U.S. farm exports, there are growing concerns about what could cause the Chinese economy to stumble. David Nelson, a global strategist for Rabobank International, sees China not only as a major importer of pork and soybeans, but also as a significant buyer of corn in coming years, purchasing anywhere from 20 million metric tons to 25 mmt. China has a problem as its corn supply isn’t enough to sustain its livestock industry, but there’s a lack of acknowledgement of that problem on the part of the Chinese government. “To me, China’s corn situation doesn’t add up,” Nelson said. Chinese soybean and meal imports are indicators of corn usage. With a ratio of two bushels of corn used for every ton of soy meal, China should be feeding about 90 mmt of corn, but the country consistently shows usage of about 30 mmt. The implication is that China isn’t being forthright about its corn production and needs for its domestic livestock industry. There is no sign of China moving toward more transparency on agricultural production, even though the country will likely be buying more corn. “It’s totally a state secret in China what their grain situation is going to be and I don’t see that changing,” Nelson said. Other countries such as Russia are becoming bigger players in feeding the world, but Russia adds to volatility in the markets. The country had a major drought last year and then instituted export bans this year, making Russia unreliable as a supplier, Nelson said. Rising prices and declining supply cause Chinese instability The Economist 7 (The Economist staff, 18 Sep 2007, “Food-price fears in China”, http://www.economist.com/node/9825983 SC) China's inflation data from August, which showed consumer prices rising at their fastest rate in a decade, have stimulated intense debate about the nature of the inflationary pressures now emerging in China—and about whether the threat from inflation is becoming more serious. On the one hand, the pick-up in headline inflation has been largely due to rising prices for food (particularly pork) that are not indicative of more generalised inflationary pressures. For example, overcapacity and acute price competition in some sectors of manufacturing will continue to mitigate the impact of rising food costs on China's headline inflation. On the other hand, rapidly rising food costs are, in themselves, cause enough for policymakers to be concerned. China has long worried about food security, and the strong impact of rising food costs on the welfare of most of the population, particularly the poor, creates evident potential for social unrest. The prevailing assessment that the current surge in inflation reflects developments in the pig industry risks masking broader trends that have the potential to complicate efforts to restrain price growth. ‘
Yee and Storey 2002(Herbert Yee, Professor of Politics and International Relations at the Hong Kong Baptist University, and Ian Storey, Lecturer in Defence Studies at Deakin University, 2002 (The China Threat: Perceptions, Myths and Reality, RoutledgeCurzon, pg 5) LM The fourth factor contributing to the perception of a China threat is the fear of political and economic collapse in the PRC, resulting in territorial fragmentation, civil war and waves of refugees pouring into neighbouring countries. Naturally, any or all of these scenarios would have a profoundly negative impact on regional stability. Today the Chinese leadership faces a raft of internal problems, including the increasing political demands of its citizens, a growing population, a shortage of natural resources and a deterioration in the natural environment caused by rapid industrialisation and pollution. These problems are putting a strain on the central government's ability to govern effectively. Political disintegration or a Chinese civil war might result in millions of Chinese refugees seeking asylum in neighbouring countries. Such an unprecedented exodus of refugees from a collapsed PRC would no doubt put a severe strain on the limited resources of China's neighbours. A fragmented China could also result in another nightmare scenario - nuclear weapons falling into the hands of irresponsible local provincial leaders or warlords.'2 From this perspective, a disintegrating China would also pose a threat to its neighbours and the world. Directory: files files -> Answer True False 2 points Question 2 files -> Integer programming and game theory files -> 4 Integer Programming files -> Bpa vehicle Window Repair Scenario #1 task: Procure vehicle window relacement. Objective files -> Pop Warner History files -> North Carolina Inclusion Initiative Mapping Where Children with ieps are Being Served Purpose files -> Fall 2013 Spring 2014 Program Data: Standard 1 Exhibit 4d files -> Hanban – asia society confucius classrooms network 2010 request for proposal files -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations Download 0.78 Mb. Share with your friends:
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