April 11, 2017

Will an Expanded Panama Canal Help Texas Ports?

(AUSTIN) — In 2016, the Panama Canal completed a massive expansion that allows it to accommodate many more of the larger cargo ships navigating today’s global trade routes – and it could mean new economic opportunities for Texas ports.

For Texas to benefit fully from increased ship traffic in the Gulf of Mexico, however, it must expand its ports and their accompanying infrastructure. In this issue of Fiscal Notes, we examine the canal’s expansion and the impact it could have on the Texas economy.

“As the nation’s top exporting state, we have an obvious interest in the Panama Canal’s expansion,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. “The canal provides an essential link between Asian economies and the West. To take full advantage, Texas ports are spending billions to deepen channels and widen waterways to accommodate bigger ships.”

In this issue, we also continue our “Inside the Comptroller’s Office” series with a look at the work of our Criminal Investigation Division (CID), whose investigators pursue tax frauds.

Fiscal Notes is available online and also can be received by subscribing via the Comptroller’s website.

Fiscal Notes helps promote and further explain the Comptroller’s constitutional responsibilities to monitor the state’s economy and estimate state government revenues. It has been published since 1975, featuring in-depth analysis concerning state finances and original research by subject-matter experts in the Comptroller’s office.

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