Mexican trucks go deep into U.S. today
To the south, interest proves underwhelming


Border safety inspector Javier Castillo inspects the undercarriage of a trailer entering the United States from Nogales, Sonora.

By Gabriela Rico
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.06.2007

At least 40 Mexican trucks are expected to roll into the United States today, headed for destinations far from the border more than 13 years after the North American Free Trade Agreement authorized such treks.
Yet, the interest from truckers south of the border in traveling beyond the border zone is considerably less than the fuss over the provision north of the international line.

Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, whose emergency motion to halt the pilot program was denied by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week, plan to protest today at San Diego and Laredo, Texas, ports of entry.

"Our biggest concern is safety," Leslie Miller, a union spokeswoman, said Wednesday.

Melissa Mazzella DeLaney, a spokeswoman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said there have been only about 175 trucks for which companies have requested authorization to bypass transfer warehouses within the border zone and deliver goods directly to the interior of the United States.

During the first month of the program, about 44 Mexican truckers will participate and the agency projects the yearlong pilot program to grow to about 540 trucks, Mazzella DeLaney said. The administration doesn't know which border crossings the truckers plan to use to enter the United States, she said.

It's likely U.S. motorists won't notice.

"When you contrast that to 8 million registered commercial vehicles (in the U.S.), you'd have to look pretty hard," she said, of noticing an impact on the roads.

Mazzella DeLaney said all trucks must pass a "rigorous" mechanical inspection and drivers will be screened for drug and alcohol use. Officers at Arizona's border crossings aren't taking any special precautions, said Brian Levin, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman.
Aside from the Teamsters' safety concerns, Miller said the union objects to the continued blurring of the line between the United States and Mexico when it comes to trade.

"It's not so much that our jobs are going to be lost," she said. "It's that Mexico is going to be opened up as the new frontier."

In turn, big companies may set up logistics hubs and take advantage of low wages in Mexico to shift U.S. manufacturing jobs there, she said.
Reciprocity from Mexico to allow U.S. truckers access south of the border does not interest the Teamsters, Miller said.

"It's all about the race to the bottom," she said.

A border-zone produce industry flourishes in Nogales, Rio Rico and Tubac, in part because of the previous rules restricting Mexican trucks to that zone. But for those who work in the zone there is not great concern about being bypassed by Mexican companies, said Lee Frankel, president of the Nogales-based Fresh Produce Association of the Americas.

Instead of waiting for the government to implement the cross-border plan, many companies have set up corporations in the U.S. and Mexico and acquired dual plates and tags on their trucks since NAFTA was approved in 1994.

Frankel said the "hysterics" will be quieted once the safety record of Mexican drivers is documented. But, then the next battle will begin.
"After 10 years of safety data records it will be a harder political sell to stop the next evolution: Allowing Mexican companies to operate fully in the U.S.," he said.

In order to maintain their relevance, logistics warehouses in Southern Arizona will need to continue accommodating truckers, making the transition smooth and working to set up industrial parks, Frankel said.
"Now, we'll be in a competitive position," he said.

That's something that will ultimately be better for Arizona, said Luis Ramirez, adviser to the Nogales Santa Cruz Port Authority and a member of the Border Trade Alliance.

"We can all see the cost savings of having a truck loaded in Guadalajara going all the way to Chicago," he said. "Anything that enhances efficiency is something we should all strive for."

azstarnet.com/border
â—