Thread: Controversy Erupts Over NASCO and the NAFTA Super-Highway

http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=15763

Controversy Erupts Over NASCO and the NAFTA Super-Highway

by Jerome R. Corsi
Posted Jun 26, 2006

Last Thursday in a radio interview with the 55KRC Morning Show in Cincinnati, Tiffany Melvin, executive director of North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition, told host Jerry Thomas that my June 12 Human Events article on NASCO was “absolutely inaccurate.”

Melvin declined to be interview for this article, stating in an e-mail her current priority was to answer the “accusations, bad information, and false assumptions” in the June 12 article. “After I have a chance to get my life back and return to a normal schedule, I will contact you,” she wrote. “In the meantime, I will continue to respond to the inquiries your erroneous reporting has caused.”

What is NASCO? It is a non-profit 501c6 organization that functions as a trade association and sometimes lobbying group for the public and private entities that are members. NASCO is an acronym for North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition, which is the official title of the organization. According to the group’s website, NASCO is “dedicated to developing the world’s first international, integrated and secure, multi-modal transportation system along the International Mid-Continent Trade and Transportation Corridor to improve both the trade competitiveness and quality of life in North America.”

Specifically, NASCO supports the corridor that encompasses Interstate Highways 35, 29 and 94, and “the significant east/west connectors to those highways in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.” That NASCO is organized around promoting NAFTA trade is obvious. Again, as stated by the group’s website:

From the largest border crossing in North America (The Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Canada), to the second largest border crossing of Laredo, Texas and Neuvo Laredo, Mexico, extending to the deep water Ports of Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico and to Manitoba, Canada, the impressive, tri-national NASCO membership truly reflects the international scope of the Corridor and the regions it impacts. (Emphasis in original.)

From an industry perspective, NASCO is one of the organizations supporting various north-south corridors identified to facilitate NAFTA trade. NASCO has absorbed the former North American International Trade Corridor Partnership, a non-profit group organized in Mexico with similar goals of internationalizing U.S. highways into a NAFTA structure to facilitate trade with Mexico and Canada. The North American Inland Port Network (NAIPN) is also listed as a NASCO partner. NAIPN functions as a NASCO sub-committee to develop “inland ports” along the highway corridors “to specifically alleviate congestion at maritime ports and our nation’s borders.”

To get a feel of the NAFTA corridor movement, we also reference CANAMEX, a trade organization that promotes a Western tri-lateral route utilizing I-19, I-10, I-93 and I-15 in the states of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Montana to link the three countries in trade. Another non-profit group, the North American Forum on Integration (NAFI), identifies four bands of NAFTA corridors (Pacific, West, East and Atlantic), all relying primarily upon internationalizing north-south existing interstate highways into NAFTA trade corridors.

One of Melvin’s main bones of contention was that NASCO did not stand for the building the NASCO corridor into a Trans-Texas Corridor-type super-highway. “NASCO is working on existing infrastructure,” Melvin told 55KRC. Yet, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is a NASCO member and NASCO supports the Trans-Texas Corridor as part of that relationship. Melvin’s e-mail stated:

The Trans-Texas Corridor is not a NASCO initiative. We support the project in Texas, as it solves critical funding problems and congestion IN TEXAS. I know of NO plans to extend it into additional states. It is not the first section of a NAFTA Super Highway. It is not ready to begin construction next year.

According to the 4,000-page draft environmental impact statement, the plan is to build a 4,000-mile network of new super-highways that will be “up to 1,200 feet wide (at full build-out) with separate lanes for passenger vehicles (three in each direction) and trucks (two in each direction), six rail lines (separate lines in each direction for high-speed rail, commuter rail, and freight rail), and a 200-foot wide utility corridor.”

On March 11, 2005, TxDOT signed a definitive agreement with Cintra Zachry, a limited partnership formed by Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructures de Transport in Spain and the San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Co. “to develop the Oklahoma to Mexico/Gulf Coast element of the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC-35). This agreement calls for the Cintra-Zachry limited partnership to pay Texas $1.2 billion “for the long-term right to build and operate the initial segment as a toll facility.” The initial TTC-35 segment is scheduled to be built roughly parallel to I-35 between Dallas and San Antonio. The final public hearings are scheduled in Texas for July and August. While construction contracts have yet to be finalized, Cintra-Zachry presumably holds those rights as a result of the $1.2 billion payment to Texas, as described in the March 11, 2005, contract. The timeline published on the Trans-Texas Corridor website envisions final federal approval by the summer of 2007, with the construction of the first TTC-35 segment to follow immediately afterward.

In regard to whether NASCO intends to rely only on existing interstate highway infrastructure, the NASCO statement of purpose cited above calls for building “the world’s first international, integrated and secure, multi-modal transportation system.” The TTC-35 project is the first super-highway project in the U.S. proceeding to incorporate railroad as part of the design, producing a truly “integrated” and “multi-modal” highway-railroad system.

Do other states plan to build TTC like roads? Most states today are strapped for cash even to maintain existing highways. Still, the investment banking and international capital pools that put together the TTC project are certain to want to apply the model to additional states along the I-35 corridor. I would also note that Cintra-Zachry is unlikely to be building TTC-35 with the idea that the four-football-fields-wide super-highway just ends at the Oklahoma border. Once the investment bankers have the deal sealed in Texas, the TTC plan and funding are certain to be taken to many other states, including Oklahoma and Kansas.

The city of Kansas City, Mo., and the Kansas City SmartPort are both listed on the NASCO website as NASCO members. The Kansas City Area Development Council has directly confirmed that the Kansas City SmartPort intends to build a Mexican customs facility to facilitate out-going traffic headed to Mexico. A copy of the Kansas City council resolution authorizing the construction of the Mexican customs facility can be found on the Internet.

Melvin also maintained that NASCO is “not competing with West Coast ports or trying to take work from them.” This argument is made, however, in a brochure posted on the website of the Kansas City SmartPort, titled “Lazaro Cardenas—Kansas City Transportation Corridor Offers Opportunities for International Shippers.”

Yet, in March 2005, Kansas City signed a cooperative pact with representatives from the Mexican state of Michoacan and with representatives from Lazaro Cardenas, a deep-port town on the Pacific coast south of the Baha peninsula, to increase the cargo volume between Lazaro Cardenas and Kansas City. The goal is to bring super-ships carrying 4,000 containers or more from China and the Far East into Mexico so the containers can be moved into the heart of the United States, bypassing the West Coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Right now transportation costs about double the cost of cheap goods made in China and the Far East. The Kansas City SmartPort plan offers a methodology for cutting out U.S. workers from the International Longshoremen’s Association, the United Transportation Union and the Teamsters. As the brochure explains:

Shipments will be pre-screened in Southeast Asia and the shipper will send advance notification to Mexican and American Customs with the corresponding “pre-clearance” information on the cargo. Upon arrival in Mexico, containers will pass through multiple X-ray and gamma ray screenings, allowing any containers with anomalies to quickly be removed for further inspection.

Container shipments will be tracked using intelligent transportation systems (ITS) that could include global positioning systems (GPS) or radio frequency identification systems (RFID) and monitored by the ITS on their way to inland trade-processing centers in Kansas City and elsewhere in the United States.

The Kansas City SmartPort brochure could not be more explicit: “Kansas City offers the opportunity for sealed cargo containers to travel to Mexican port cities with virtually no border delays. It will streamline shipments from Asia and cut the time and labor costs associated with shipping through the congested ports on the West Coast.”

The plan to put the NAFTA Super-Highway is intended to be done incrementally, designed to stay below the radar of mainstream media attention. The full build-out of the Trans-Texas Corridor’s 4,000-mile planned network is projected to be completed in discrete stages, over the next 50 years. This gives plenty of time to expand the super-highway network incrementally, state-by-state up-and-down the various identified NAFTA corridors.

The plan to create a North American Union as a regional government in 2010 is directly stated only in the May 2005 task force report, “Building a North American Community.” Still, we must examine how the Security and Prosperity Partnership signed by President Bush with Mexico and Canada in Waco, Tex., on March 23, 2005, is being implemented. We find that government offices such as the Security and Prosperity Partnership working groups being organized within the U.S. Department of Commerce are signing trilateral memoranda of understanding and other agreements with Mexico and Canada consistent with the goal of fulfilling the CFR’s dream to bring about a North American Union by 2010.

We find the same here. NASCO is a trade organization that will never fund or build a single highway anywhere. Yet NASCO supports its members and NASCO members are hard at work building the NAFTA Super-Highway.

Still sounds to me that the big businesses are going to get their cheap labor, even if we run all of the illegals out of America, in others words, they are saying "play it my way, or it's the highway (literally)"!!!!

All they care about is their profits and not about their country.

Thought we would all find this information on membership very interesting, especially since they have three separate pricing structures, one for America, one for Canada, and el-cheapo for Mexico.

Should see the map they have on their site...VERY SCARY


Private Sector - Membership Levels and Benefits
Fiscal Year 2006
North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition, Inc., is a non-profit organization located in Dallas, Texas, dedicated to developing the world’s first international, integrated and secure, multi-modal transportation system along the International Mid-Continent Trade Corridor to improve both the trade competitiveness and quality of life in North America.

NASCO has and will continue to develop a ready network of government, private sector, and non-governmental officials from Canada, the United States and Mexico through local, state and federal two-way professional exchanges to discuss, identify, and implement best practices to respond to the growing trade opportunities and security challenges along the International Mid-Continent Trade Corridor (IMCTC). We also work to provide solutions and actionable projects and initiatives to address the growing challenges of trade and security along the IMCTC to address strategic infrastructure protection. We strive to create an efficient, integrated and secure NAFTA transportation system throughout the heartland of America.

NASCO creates a trilateral forum to address common concerns, achieve shared goals and promote economic and business development for our member entities.

Our private sector members receive many benefits through membership:

Promotion of business and economic development, educational and tourism opportunities along the NASCO International Trade Corridor regions
Share experiences and information relating to local and regional economic promotion.
Foster the development of the NASCO International Trade Corridor.
Participation in corridor-wide projects related to inland ports, customs harmonization, and intelligent transportation systems.
Creation of an international network for the benefit of member businesses.
Access to a large and diverse group of public and private sector members all along the NASCO International Trade Corridor.
Access to the NASCO Congressional Caucus in Washington, D.C.
Access to several networking events that provide opportunities to meet and develop meaningful business relationships.
Membership network to promote common objectives relating to economic development, business development and international trade along the NASCO International Trade Corridor.




Benefactor Level $10,000 USD

Opportunity to have one position on the NASCO Board of Directors - one company representative with one vote on the governing body of the Coalition
Preferential participation in official visits with Mexico, Canada, and U.S. Congressional and governmental agencies
Facilitation of exclusive meetings for specific member concerns
Personal NASCO updates from the Executive Director and/or members of the NASCO Board of Directors
Briefings on key legislative actions of particular interest
All Patron Level benefits


Patron Level $5,000 USD

NASCO updates from the Executive Director and/or members of the NASCO Board of Directors
Copies of NASCO studies and reports
Involvement with the development and marketing of inland ports
Opportunity to be featured in NASCO publications
Promotion through an introductory feature article in NASCO News, our monthly newsletter
Periodic speaking opportunities at NASCO events and other member events
Feature local and regional initiatives in NASCO publications and at events
Media exposure through press releases and industry articles
All Investor Level benefits


Investor Level $2,500 USD

Matchmaking specific business development opportunities with other members and contacts
Constant access to Corridor logistical information
NASCO logistics expert available to members only
Access to NASCO web site and Member’s Only section (under development)
Be the first to receive exclusive updates on local & regional projects along the corridor
Participate in NASCO projects and events
Discounted Registration Fees (NASCO & Partner events)
Weekly / Monthly reports prepared by the NASCO federal lobbying team
Copies of draft legislation with bill analysis
Timely email updates regarding NASCO activities and initiatives
All Associate Level benefits


Associate Level $1,000 USD
(For Companies with less than 10 employees)

Subscription to NASCO News
Company name recognition and logo on the NASCO Website
NASCO Service Directory with member contact information
Constant access to Corridor logistical information
NASCO logistics expert available to members only (additional services negotiated on an individual basis)
Special reduced rate on registration fees for NASCO conferences and events
Access to NASCO web site and Member’s Only section (under development)
Access to interactive North American Inland Port Network web site


Educational Institutions $2,500 USD

On – site NASCO lecture for a class or group of individual students
Briefing materials and email updates for students upon request
Automatic membership on “Knowledge Corridor” committee, made up of educational institutions along the NASCO Corridor
All Silver Level Benefits


Individual Member $500 USD
(International Trade Students/Professors)

Subscription to NASCO News
Special reduced rate on registration fees for NASCO conferences and events


Public Sector - Membership Levels and Benefits
Fiscal Year 2006
North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition, Inc., is a non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, dedicated to developing the world’s first international, integrated and secure, multi-modal transportation system along the International Mid-Continent Trade Corridor to improve both the trade competitiveness and quality of life in North America.

NASCO has and will continue to develop a ready network of government, private sector, and non-governmental officials from Canada, the United States and Mexico through local, state and federal two-way professional exchanges to discuss, identify, and implement best practices to respond to the growing trade opportunities and security challenges along the International Mid-Continent Trade Corridor (IMCTC). We also work to provide solutions and actionable projects and initiatives to address the growing challenges of trade and security along the IMCTC to address strategic infrastructure protection. We strive to create an efficient, integrated and secure NAFTA transportation system throughout the heartland of America.

NASCO creates a trilateral forum to address common concerns, achieve shared goals and promote economic and business development for our member entities.
Our public sector members receive many benefits through membership:

Promotion of commercial enterprises and other organizations located within the member city, county, state or province for the benefit of local businesses.
Creation of an international network for the benefit of local businesses.
Sharing of experiences and information relating to local and regional economic promotion.
Fostering the continued development of the NASCO International Trade Corridor.
Participation in corridor-wide projects related to inland ports, customs harmonization, and intelligent transportation systems.
Access to the NASCO team of federal lobbyists.
Access to the NASCO Congressional Caucus in Washington, D.C.
Promotion of educational and tourism opportunities along the NASCO International Trade Corridor region.
Access to a large and diverse group of public and private sector members all along the NASCO International Trade Corridor.
Networking forum to share and promote ideas and common objectives relating to economic development, business development and international trade projects along the NASCO International Trade Corridor.


Benefactor Level $25,000 USD

Two positions on the NASCO Board of Directors, which entitles two representatives to one vote each on the governing body of the Coalition
Preferential participation in official visits with Mexico, Canada, and U.S. Congressional and governmental agencies.
Facilitation of exclusive meetings for specific member concerns
Personal NASCO Updates from the Executive Director
Briefings on key legislative actions of particular interest
All Patron Level benefits


Patron Level $10,000 USD

One position on the NASCO Board of Directors, which entitles one representative to one vote on the governing body of the Coalition
Preferential participation in official visits with Mexico, Canada, and U.S. Congressional and governmental agencies.
Facilitation of exclusive meetings for specific member concerns
Personal NASCO Updates from the Executive Director
Briefings on key legislative actions of particular interest
All General Public Sector Member benefits

General Public Sector Member Benefits

Business Development

Access to regional market specific contacts
NASCO Service Directory with member contact information
Exclusive NASCO events and other trade and transportation related events
Matchmaking specific business development opportunities with other members and contacts
Personal NASCO related updates from the Executive Director and/or members of the Board of Directors


Legislative

Timely briefings on key legislative actions
Copies of draft legislation with bill analysis
Weekly/Monthly reports prepared by the NASCO federal lobbying team


Logistics

Constant access to Corridor logistical information
NASCO logistics expert available to members only
Additional services negotiated on an individual basis


Web Site

Access to NASCO web site and Member’s Only section (under development)
Company logo on NASCO web site and all promotional materials
Link to your company’s web site on NASCO’s home page


Inland Ports

Involvement with the development and marketing of inland ports
Access to interactive North American Inland Port Network web site


Federal Projects

Receive exclusive updates on NAFTRACS
Opportunity to participate in federal projects
Access to detailed project information on Member’s only section of the web site


Information

Be the first to receive exclusive updates on :
Local & regional projects along the corridor (Ex. Trans Texas Corridor 35)

Copies of NASCO studies and reports
Subscription to monthly NASCO News
Lobby Updates


Publicity

Participate in NASCO projects:
NASCO Conferences
Inland Ports Across North America (IPANA)
Discounted Registration Fees (NASCO & Partner events)

Be featured in NASCO publications
Promotion through an introductory feature article in NASCO News
Periodic speaking opportunities at NASCO events and other member events
Feature local and regional initiatives in NASCO publications and at events
Media exposure through press releases and industry articles


Facilitation of exclusive meetings for specific member concerns

Preferential participation in official visits with Mexico, Canada and the U.S. Congressional government agencies

NASCO Public Sector Membership Contributions are determined by population:

Population**
0 - 24,999
25,000 - 49,999
50,000 - 149,9991
150,000 - 299,999
300,000 - 999,000
1,000,0002 -

State Memberships
Dues
$2,500
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000

$50,000



Mexico - Membership Levels and Benefits
Fiscal Year 2006
North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition, Inc., is a non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, dedicated to developing the world’s first international, integrated and secure, multi-modal transportation system along the International Mid-Continent Trade Corridor to improve both the trade competitiveness and quality of life in North America.

NASCO has and will continue to develop a ready network of government, private sector, and non-governmental officials from Canada, the United States and Mexico through local, state and federal two-way professional exchanges to discuss, identify, and implement best practices to respond to the growing trade opportunities and security challenges along the International Mid- Continent Trade Corridor (IMCTC). We also work to provide solutions and actionable projects and initiatives to address the growing challenges of trade and security along the IMCTC to address strategic infrastructure protection. We strive to create an efficient, integrated and secure NAFTA transportation system throughout the heartland of America.

NASCO creates a trilateral forum to address common concerns, achieve shared goals and promote economic and business development for our member entities.

Our members receive many benefits through membership:

Business Development

Access to regional market specific contacts
NASCO Service Directory with member contact information
Exclusive NASCO events and other trade and transportation related events
Matchmaking specific business development opportunities with other members and contacts
Personal NASCO related updates from the Executive Director and/or members of the Board of Directors
Legislative

Timely briefings on key legislative actions
Copies of draft legislation with bill analysis
Weekly/Monthly reports prepared by the NASCO federal lobbying team
Logistics

Constant access to Corridor logistical information
NASCO logistics expert available to members only
Additional services negotiated on an individual basis
Web Site

Access to NASCO web site and Member’s Only section (under development)
Company logo on NASCO web site and all promotional materials
Link to your company’s web site on NASCO’s home page
Inland Ports

Involvement with the development and marketing of inland ports
Access to interactive North American Inland Port Network web site
Federal Projects

Receive exclusive updates on NAFTRACS
Opportunity to participate in federal projects
Access to detailed project information on Member’s only section of the web site
Information

Be the first to receive exclusive updates on :
Local & regional projects along the corridor (Ex. Trans Texas Corridor 35)

Copies of NASCO studies and reports
Subscription to monthly NASCO News
Lobby Updates
Publicity

Participate in NASCO projects:
NASCO conferences
Inland Ports Across North America (IPANA)
Discounted Registration Fees (NASCO & Partner events)

Be featured in NASCO publications
Promotion through an introductory feature article in NASCO News
Periodic speaking opportunities at NASCO events and other member events
Feature local and regional initiatives in NASCO publications and at events
Media exposure through press releases and industry articles
Facilitation of exclusive meetings for specific member concerns

Preferential participation in official visits with Mexico, Canada and the U.S. Congressional government agencies

Mexican Private Sector Memberships

$1,000 USD – Receive all benefits listed above.

$5,000 USD – Receive all benefits listed above and one position/vote on the ‘NASCO Mexico Committee’, the leadership committee for NASCO initiatives in Mexico.

Mexican Public Sector Memberships

States $3,500 USD
Cities $2,500 USD

Brian,

Glad I checked, was just going to post this!!!

Pinto, You are a great researcher!!