Mexico Sends 1st Long-Haul Trucks to US
Posted on Sunday, September 16 @ 15:08:51 EDT
Topic: NAFTA CAFTA FTAA
|
 Mexico Sends 1st Long-Haul Trucks to US
By LISA J. ADAMS | Associated Press Writer
6:02 PM EDT, September 9, 2007
MEXICO CITY - Two Mexican tractor-trailers have delivered payloads in
New York and South Carolina, becoming the first trucks to operate deep
in the United States under a long-delayed, NAFTA-mandated program
criticized on both sides of the border.
The trucks, operated by Transportes Olympic, a company based outside
the northern Mexican city of Monterrey, crossed into the United States
carrying steel construction materials and will haul similar products
from Arkansas and Alabama back across the border, Mexican
Transportation Secretary Luis Tellez said Sunday.
Since 1982, Mexican trucks have been allowed to operate in the United
States only within a 25-mile zone along the border, where they transfer
loads to U.S. vehicles for transport elsewhere in the country.
Unrestricted access was supposed to begin in 1995, but the Clinton
administration refused to open the border to Mexican trucks out of
concern that they might be unsafe. A NAFTA arbitration panel overruled
the U.S. in 2001, but lawsuits and lengthy negotiations with the
Mexican government led to even more delays.
Topics: Illegal Immigration, Mecian trucks, terrorists, drug smugglers, human smugglers, Mexican government, NAFTA, Transportes Olympic, Mexican tractor-trailers, New York and South Carolina, Mexican
Transportation Secretary, U.S. Transportation Department, North American Free Trade Agreemen, Stagecoach Cartage & Distribution Inc. of El Paso,
Texas, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Sierra Club, ublic Citizen, U.S. safety and environmental
standards, Bush administration, Unsafe Mexican Trucks, Texas, California, NAFTA Kills, Tony Garza
On Thursday, the U.S. Transportation Department granted permission to
Transportes Olympic to haul cargo anywhere in the United States as part
of the North American Free Trade Agreement. In turn, Mexico granted
authority to Stagecoach Cartage & Distribution Inc. of El Paso,
Texas, to travel throughout Mexico.
"On Friday, Sept. 7, the first two Mexican cargo trucks crossed the
border with the United States," Tellez told a news conference.
The U.S. plans to give as many as 25 Mexican firms permission to haul
cargo north of the border by the end of the month, and will add another
25 per month until reaching 100 -- for a total of 1,000 trucks -- by
year's end under a one-year pilot program. The Mexican government also
has committed to allow trucks from as many as 100 U.S. firms to travel
anywhere in Mexico.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, environmentalist group the
Sierra Club and watchdog organization Public Citizen sued to stop it,
saying Mexican trucks do not meet U.S. safety and environmental
standards and that there would not be enough oversight of drivers
crossing the border. A federal appeals court ruled last week that the
Bush administration could move ahead with the program.
Dozens of truckers protested at border crossings in Texas and
California on Thursday, some carrying signs reading "NAFTA Kills" and
"Unsafe Mexican Trucks."
In Mexico, representatives of the national trucking association have
argued that most Mexican companies are not ready for cross-border
long-haul trips because the government has failed to help them
modernize and take other necessary steps to qualify for the program.
U.S. and Mexican officials say the program is a necessary part of NAFTA
and that trucks enrolled in the program would meet U.S. regulations.
"This project will allow us to demonstrate in practice that
door-to-door cargo shipments without intermediaries at the border will
lower costs ... and increase our country's competitiveness," Tellez
said.
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza estimated that letting trucks
travel freely throughout both countries would save more than $400
million annually in transportation costs.
|
|
| |
| Article Rating | Average Score: 0
Votes: 0
| |
|
Contribute/Join
