Thread: U.S. Roads May Reopen to Mexican Trucking Companies

U.S. Roads May Reopen to Mexican Trucking Companies

Last Update: 3:01 pm

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is circulating a proposal for re-opening U.S. roads to Mexican trucking companies, a starting point in an attempt to resolve a longstanding trade dispute.

The Transportation Department released the proposal on Thursday after showing it to members of Congress. It lays out conditions that Mexican long-haul truck carriers would have to meet, including a safety audit, emissions standards and driver background checks.

The U.S. trucking companies and drivers oppose giving Mexican carriers access to the U.S. trucking market. They say Mexican trucks don't have to meet as stringent safety standards as their U.S. counterparts, which would give them an economic advantage.

Mexico has protested the lack of access as a violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The U.S. canceled its previous Mexican trucking program in March 2009, leading Mexico to impose tariffs on a rotating list of U.S. products.

The U.S. products, valued at about $2.5 billion., include rice, beef, soy sauce and sunglasses.

http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/sto ... px?rss=800

The U.S. trucking companies and drivers oppose giving Mexican carriers access to the U.S. trucking market. They say Mexican trucks don't have to meet as stringent safety standards as their U.S. counterparts, which would give them an economic advantage.

The Canadians have to meet the same standards as the U.S. truckers, but the Mexican trucks are given a "pass".

The last time they came in here the hiways were covered in retread and they ran in packs on the Interstates with 2 and 3 drivers in one truck and cutting American truckers out of loads all over the country.

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

We have unemployed truck drivers here in the U.S.
They should be driving any trucks that move anywhere in this country.

DOT seeks to resolve trucking dispute with Mexico

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration Thursday released a proposal for re-opening U.S. roads to Mexican trucking companies, describing it as a starting point for negotiations aimed at resolving a longstanding dispute between the two nations.

The Department of Transportation proposal lays out in general terms conditions that Mexican long-haul truck carriers would have to meet, including a safety audit, U.S. emissions standards and driver background checks.

The proposal leaves a timetable and specifics on how many trucks would be allowed to enter the U.S. from Mexico to be resolved by negotiations, which are expected to begin very soon, transportation officials said.

U.S. truck drivers oppose giving Mexican carriers access to the U.S. They say Mexican trucks don't have to meet as stringent safety and environmental standards as their U.S. counterparts, which gives them an economic advantage.

"I am deeply disappointed by this proposal," International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said in a statement. "Why would the DOT propose to threaten U.S. truck drivers' and warehouse workers' jobs when unemployment is so high? And why would we do it when drug cartel violence along the border is just getting worse?"

Mexico has protested the lack of access as a violation of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. In March 2009, after Congress failed to renew a pilot program that let a limited number of Mexican trucking companies haul freight beyond a 25-mile U.S. commercial zone, Mexico placed higher tariffs on 89 U.S. products. In August, Mexico added new products to the list after the U.S. failed to present a proposal for resolving the trucking issue.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said producers of potatoes, apples and pears in her state have been particularly hard hit.

"We are depending on the administration to work quickly and forcefully to convince Mexico to remove the barriers it is imposing on our agricultural exports," Cantwell said in response to the proposal.

U.S. industry officials also welcomed the proposal.

"We can't say the Mexican trucking dispute is over, but we can now say that, at last, the end appears to be in sight," Doug Goudie, the National Association of Manufacturers' trade policy director, said in a statement.

But independent truckers said drug-related violence in Mexico will likely keep their members from transporting goods south across the border, making an increase in access to the U.S. by Mexican carriers a one-sided deal.

"U.S. truckers would be forced to forfeit their own economic opportunities while companies and drivers from Mexico, free from equivalent regulatory burdens, take over their traffic lanes," said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, a trade association for truckers.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2 ... ucks_N.htm