The Mexican trucks story was a huge front page story that continued into the second page in The Sun newspaper today. I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw the headline and huge photo as this is a typical liberal rag.

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Border brouhaha
Voices are raised against Mexican truckers in U.S.
Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:09/06/2007 11:32:27 PM PDT

While dozens of truckers rallied at the Mexican border 100 miles away, Dan Fitzpatrick was waging his own quiet protest at an Ontario truck stop on Thursday afternoon.

Fitzpatrick, a 54-year-old truck driver from Wisconsin, stood side by side in spirit with opponents of a pilot program that allows Mexican trucking companies to freely haul their cargo anywhere in the United States.

The U.S. Transportation Department was expected to begin issuing operating permits in the program as early as Thursday.

The one-year pilot program is intended to study whether opening the border to all trucks can be done safely.

To date, 38 Mexican firms are in line to receive U.S. permits, officials said.

The government plans to issue 17 permits during the first month.

Dozens of truckers protested the program on Thursday near San Diego's Otay Mesa border crossing.

Some waved signs saying "Save American Highways" and "Unsafe Mexican trucks."

Demonstrators also gathered at the border crossing in Laredo, Texas.

Fitzpatrick echoed the sentiments expressed at the protests as he fueled his truck at the TA Travel Center off the 10 Freeway in Ontario.

"I don't think (Mexican) trucks are roadworthy to be driven in the U.S.," said Fitzpatrick, an independent owner-operator who had just dropped off a load of hydraulic pumps he brought from Utah to the Santa Clarita Valley.

Fitzpatrick said he fears his livelihood could be threatened if Mexican drivers enter the market.

Mexican companies could provide the same service at a cheaper price, leading to a competitive disadvantage, he said.

"I would lose up to 20 percent of my income," said Fitzpatrick, who makes 20 to 30 trips a year to the border crossing at Laredo, Texas, the busiest cargo crossing in the country.

The 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement requires that all roads in the United States, Mexico and Canada be opened to carriers from all three countries.

Since 1982, Mexican trucks have been allowed only within a 25-mile zone along the border. There, goods are transferred to U.S. trucks before they are shipped elsewhere in the country.

The loosening of the travel restrictions is opposed by the Teamsters union and Sierra Club.

The groups sued to try to stop the program, claiming that Mexican truckers won't be held to the same strict regulations as their U.S. counterparts.

But a federal appeals court ruled last week that the Bush administration could proceed with the program.

Government lawyers said Mexican trucks participating in the program would meet U.S. standards.

Richard Bartolic, president of the California Trucking Association, said he is concerned that Mexican trucks might be allowed to freely operate anywhere in the U.S. before American trucks can do the same in Mexico.

Canadian trucking companies already have full access to U.S. roads.

"We need a reciprocal agreement that is fair to all parties," said Bartolic, president of American Pacific, an intermodal trucking company based in Chino.

Before operating permits are issued to Mexican trucking companies, U.S. officials said the transportation department's inspector general must give final approval.

The Mexican government also must begin issuing permits to U.S. truckers to drive in Mexico, officials said.

"There are air-quality standards and there are safety standards that we are held to," Bartolic said. "There are insurance standards that we are held to. To this date, there is no evidence that they are going to be able to enforce those same standards on the Mexican carriers entering our state."

Bartolic said the program creates "unfair competition" and puts "an unfair burden" on U.S. trucking businesses.

One Mexican trucker who was having his tires changed at a Fontana truck stop acknowledged that U.S. companies could be hurt by the new rules.

"In some ways, we are affecting the drivers here," said Francisco Garcia, 28, who was on the way back to Tijuana on Thursday afternoon after delivering a load of audio speakers to Mira Loma.

"Some of our trucks are not in good condition," Garcia said in Spanish. "They don't pass smog checks and meet other requirements."

Garcia said the law only allows him to deliver cargo from Mexico directly to destinations in the United States. Once a load is dropped off, he has to return to Mexico with an empty truck.

"If I break the law, I'll get caught and lose my permit to drive a truck in the United States," said Garcia, who earns $90 to $130 a day for each trip between Tijuana and the Southern California area.

Garcia, who lives in Tijuana, said he is learning English as a requirement of the new program. He also said he makes sure to respect speed limits and other rules of the road.

The U.S. government said it has imposed drug and alcohol testing and other requirements for drivers from other countries. In addition, the law requires truck and bus drivers to have a basic understanding of written and spoken English.

Valerie Liese, president of Jack Jones Trucking Inc. in Ontario, said the program could devastate a U.S. trucking industry that is already struggling.

"You'll gradually see a lot of California carriers bite the dust because they won't be able to compete price-wise," Liese said.

Liese said the state is requiring all pre-2007 trucks to be retrofitted to have cleaner-burning engines. That will cost up to $25,000 per truck, she said.

"Are the Mexican truckers going to be doing that?" Liese said. "California has cleaner fuel than other states. Who's going to guarantee the kind of fuel that Mexican truckers are carrying? They're probably carrying more pollutants."

Liese said she is also concerned about the safety of motorists sharing freeways with truckers who have less experience driving in the United States.

"I want everyone on the road to be safe. I don't care where they're from," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact writer Stephen Wall at (909) 386-3916 or via e-mail at stephen.wall@sbsun.com.


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