American politics and policies in the regulation of Mexican natural gas imports

Thesis/Dissertation · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:5129392

Palmer, D R

Regulation of natural gas imports from Mexico has been dominated by the industry's domestic regulatory-issue agenda throughout the 30-year trade history. Three distinct phases are identified. In the 1950's, Mexican imports were assessed in terms of their effect on a domestic industry experiencing rapid growth and inter-fuel competition. In the 1960's and thereafter, preservation of domestic price regulation was the overriding criterion for determination of the public interest in Mexican import applications. In the most recent phase, national security considerations activated by the energy crisis have increased the salience of foreign economic policy in the regulation of Mexican natural gas imports. Notwithstanding, domestic issues have continued to predominate. The increasing importance of foreign economic policy in determination of the public interest in Mexican imports is apparent in the transformation of regulatory practice. An administrative process in which the Federal Power Commission interpreted a vague Congressional mandate for the public interest in adversarial public hearings was transformed in the Carter Administration. Explicit policy guidelines were enunciated and interpreted in the Department of Energy under the jurisdiction of its Secretary. Policy consistency and containment of pluralist participatory politics were explicit objectives of a new Congressional mandate that greatly modified regulatory procedures initiated by the Natural Gas Act in 1938.

• OSTI ID: 5129392
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
030600 -- Natural Gas-- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects
031000* -- Natural Gas-- Legislation & Regulations
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
294003 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Natural Gas
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ECONOMIC POLICY
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOREIGN POLICY
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
IMPORTS
LATIN AMERICA
MEXICO
NATURAL GAS
NORTH AMERICA
REGULATIONS
USA