Tournament: USC | Round: 2 | Opponent: CK McClatchy | Judge: Greg Grigsby
Contention 1: Inherency
THA agreement stalled in the US and poses the biggest threat to US-Mexico relations. Pemex drilling in the gulf key to Mexico’s economy – but they need the US’s expertise
Rampton, 13 – (Roberta Rampton, Associated Press Staff Writer for Reuters. April 29, 2013. “U.S.-Mexico deal on expanded Gulf oil drilling still in limbo,” http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/29/usa-mexico-oil-idUSL2N0DG0CV20130429)//SDL¶ (Reuters) -
Plan: The United States federal government should implement sections of H.R. 1613 that constitute economic engagement with Mexico
Contention 2: Advantages
1 – Relations Advantage
First, the plan averts relations disasters from energy disputes in the Gulf
BBC News 2/20/12 “US and Mexico agree Gulf of Mexico oil cooperation” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17108286
Second, Impacts
Relations solve Latin American instability and wars
Baeza and Langevin ‘9 Gonzalo Baeza and Mark Langevin, Ph.D, “The Convergence We Need?” March 31, 2009, http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/item/2009/0103/comm/baezalangevin_convergence.html
Latin American wars go global – even absent escalation, they collapse hegemony and encourage counterbalancing
Rochin, Professor of Political Science, 94 James, Professor of Political Science at Okanagan University College, Discovering the Americas: the evolution of Canadian foreign policy towards Latin America, pp. 130-131
Heg solves nuclear war
Brooks et al 13
Stephen G. Brooks is Associate Professor of Government at Dartmouth College.G. John Ikenberry is the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He is also a Global Eminence Scholar at Kyung Hee University.William C. Wohlforth is the Daniel Webster Professor in the Department of Government at Dartmouth College. “Don't Come Home, America: The Case against Retrenchment”, Winter 2013, Vol. 37, No. 3, Pages 7-51, http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/ISEC_a_00107
2 – Gulf Advantage
Deepwater oil accident inevitable in the Gulf of Mexico
Shields, 12 – (David, independent energy consultant. “QandA: Is Mexico Prepared for Deepwater Drilling in the Gulf?”, Inter-American Dialogue’s Latin American Energy Advisor, 2/20/2012, http://repository.unm.edu/bitstream/handle/1928/20477/Is20Mexico20Prepared20for20Deepwater20Drilling20in20the20Gulf.pdf?sequence=1)//SDL
Gulf’s ecosystems on the brink—plan key to solve another accident
Craig, 11 – (Robert Kundis Craig, Attorneys’ Title Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Environmental Programs at Florida State University. “Legal Remedies for Deep Marine Oil Spills and Long-Term Ecological Resilience: A Match Made in Hell”, Brigham Young University Law Review, 2011, http://lawreview.byu.edu/articles/1326405133_03craig.fin.pdf)//SDL
The plan solves - the THA leads to safety coordination between the U.S. and Mexico
Broder and Krauss, 12 – business correspondents at the New York Times
(John M. Broder and Clifford Krauss, “U.S. in Accord With Mexico on Drilling”, The New York Times, 2-20-2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/world/americas/mexico-and-us-agree-on-oil-and-gas-development-in-gulf.html?_r=1andref=americas)
Plan spills over past the border to environmental standardization in the entire Gulf of Mexico
Velarde, 12 – (Rogelio Lopez Velarde, attorney and counselor-at-law, held various positions at Pemex during 1988-1993, including that of Financial Advisor to the Finance Department, In-House Counsel in Houston, Texas, In-House Counsel in New York, and Head of the International Legal Department of Pemex. He was honored with the “Most Distinguished Attorney Award” of Pemex for the period 1990-1991, former Chairman of the Energy Committee of the Mexican Bar Association, and currently he is the President for the Latin America Chapter of the Association of the International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN), as Visiting Professor of Judicial Process on the Mexican Legal Studies Program at the University of Houston Law Center, and he is currently the director of the Energy Law Seminar organized between the Universidad Iberoamericana and the Mexican Bar Association. “US-Mexican treaty on Gulf of Mexico transboundary reservoirs”, International Law Office, 3-19-2012, http://www.internationallawoffice.com/newsletters/detail.aspx?g=b9326bf8-f27f-43ff-b45a-1b2b70ccb217)//SDL
Gulf ecosystems are critical biodiversity hotspots and have a key effect on the world’s oceans
Brenner, 8 – (Jorge Brenner, “Guarding the Gulf of Mexico’s valuable resources”, SciDevNet, 3-14-2008, http://www.scidev.net/en/opinions/guarding-the-gulf-of-mexico-s-valuable-resources.html)//SDL
Craig, 11 – Attorneys’ Title Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Environmental Programs at Florida State University
(Robin Kundis, “Legal Remedies for Deep Marine Oil Spills and Long-Term Ecological Resilience: A Match Made in Hell”, Brigham Young University Law Review, 2011, http://lawreview.byu.edu/articles/1326405133_03craig.fin.pdf)
Ocean biodiversity key to survival
Craig, 3 – (Robin Kundis Craig, Attorneys’ Title Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Environmental Programs at Florida State University. “ARTICLE: Taking Steps Toward Marine Wilderness Protection? Fishing and Coral Reef Marine Reserves in Florida and Hawaii,” McGeorge Law Review, Winter 2003, 34 McGeorge L. Rev. 155)SDL
Contention 3: Solvency
The plan solves best—leadership from Congress and State is key to effective cooperation with Mexico
Brown and Meacham ’12 – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senior Staff Members
(Neil and Carl, “OIL, MEXICO, AND THE TRANSBOUNDARY AGREEMENT A MINORITY STAFF REPORT PREPARED FOR THE USE OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE”, 12-21-2012)
The Mexican Senate has already ratified the THA—its effectiveness is only a question of U.S. ratification
Velarde, 12 – (Rogelio Lopez Velarde, attorney and counselor-at-law, held various positions at Pemex during 1988-1993, including that of Financial Advisor to the Finance Department, In-House Counsel in Houston, Texas, In-House Counsel in New York, and Head of the International Legal Department of Pemex. He was honored with the “Most Distinguished Attorney Award” of Pemex for the period 1990-1991, former Chairman of the Energy Committee of the Mexican Bar Association, and currently he is the President for the Latin America Chapter of the Association of the International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN), as Visiting Professor of Judicial Process on the Mexican Legal Studies Program at the University of Houston Law Center, and he is currently the director of the Energy Law Seminar organized between the Universidad Iberoamericana and the Mexican Bar Association. “US-Mexican treaty on Gulf of Mexico transboundary reservoirs”, International Law Office, 3-19-2012, http://www.internationallawoffice.com/newsletters/Detail.aspx?g=b9326bf8-f27f-43ff-b45a-1b2b70ccb217andredir=1)