Published: 11.30.2007

Mexico could retaliate if U.S. blocks trucks, Kolbe warns
By Gabriela Rico
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Did you know …

The Canamex Trade Corridor, defined by Congress as a "High Priority Corridor," runs from Mexico City to Edmonton, Alberta.

In Arizona, the Canamex Corridor follows I-19 from Nogales to Tucson; I-10 from Tucson to Phoenix; and U.S. Route 93 to Las Vegas and follows I-15 to Edmonton.

The $240 million Hoover Dam Bypass project on U.S. Route 93 is part of the corridor project.

Source: 1995 National Highway Systems Designation Act
Economic retaliation from Mexico is a real threat if U.S. lawmakers repeal a provision that allows Mexican truckers access to the U.S. interior, according to former U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe.

"If Congress succeeds in blocking (the program) I believe Mexico could retaliate, as they are entitled to do," the Arizona Republican told members of the Southern Arizona Logistics Education Organization in Tucson on Thursday.

Kolbe, who retired at the beginning of the year after 11 terms in Congress, is the new chairman of the Canamex Corridor Task Force and part of a three-member committee appointed to monitor the cross-border truck program, which has faced strong opposition from some trucking union members and politicians.

He warned that if our southern neighbors "lose patience," U.S. companies could face higher tariffs on trade entering Mexico.

"It's not an idle threat," Kolbe said. "And it sends a bad message to Mexico and Latin America about how seriously we take our obligations."

The trucking program, a provision of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, began in September. Before that, Mexican trucks were restricted to driving within a commercial border zone.

Attempts by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to block the entry of Mexican trucks into the U.S. failed. The Senate then approved a proposal prohibiting the Transportation Department from spending money on the program, but it continues while Congress debates a larger transportation bill that contains the provision.

Earlier this month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA, announced it would install satellite-tracking devices on trucks from the United States and Mexico to monitor them as they pick up and deliver loads — a decision made after members of Congress questioned participants' compliance with U.S. safety and trade laws, said Melissa Mazzella DeLaney, an FMCSA spokeswoman.

Kolbe said only seven companies from Mexico have signed up for the program because of the uncertainty of its future. He said the melee is indicative of the attitude toward Mexico, free trade and globalization.
"Nothing's changed," he said. "I'm still talking about free trade while other members of Congress are talking about closing down the border."

Kolbe was recently appointed to chair the Canamex Corridor Task Force by Gov. Janet Napolitano. The corridor, which runs from Mexico City through Tucson north to Edmonton, Alberta, is a federally designated "high priority" route for the movement of trade.

The act of facilitating this commerce strikes fear in some hearts and spurs talk of a "continental merger" and "North America union," Kolbe said.
"It's a silly idea," he said, and he implored members of the Tucson logistics group to be proactive and to go out in their communities to talk to residents and politicians about the importance of trade to Southern Arizona.

For example, Kolbe said, the inland port idea in Tucson must be pushed along.

After a decade in the hands of the city, the inland port project, known as Puerto Nuevo, folded this summer and the concept was moved to the economic development group Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Inc., which said it would take the next year to continue studying the idea.
"It's one thing that we clearly need to do," Kolbe said. "But we haven't gotten our act together."

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/214003