Mexican Trucking Will Be Revived By U.S., LaHood Says (Update3)

By Angela Greiling Keane

March 24 (Bloomberg) -- Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he will revive a program that lets Mexican trucks deliver goods across the border in a bid to resolve a dispute with the U.S.’s third-largest trading partner.

LaHood met today with Senator Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, who worked successfully to cut off funding for the program because of what he said was a failure to meet U.S. safety standards. The program is required by the North American Free Trade Agreement with the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Mexico last week applied $2.4 billion in tariffs on at least 90 U.S. products in retaliation for the U.S. suspending rules that let some Mexican trucks operate beyond a zone along the countries’ border. Senators including John McCain, an Arizona Republican, and Mel Martinez, a Florida Republican, have said the U.S. should bring back the program, citing the economic needs of U.S. consumers and exporters.

“What we want to do is to make it a program Congress feels good about,â€