Obama is thinking about opening US roads to Mexican truckers. I got the following from my association. I don't think the letter has been sent yet so hopefully there is time to push alot of Congressmen to sign:

Remove the Mexican Tariffs by Renegotiating NAFTA’s Cross Border Truck Program

Dear Colleague:

You may recall the overwhelming Congressional rejection of the Mexican truck cross-border demonstration program. Congress – with 411 votes - rejected this program in 2007 and again in 2008 and 2009. Sadly, under the guise of NAFTA, the Mexican government responded by slapping tariffs on $2.4 billion in American exports to Mexico. I do not believe Congress will reverse course under threat of these excessive, arbitrary, and political tariffs.

However, we cannot sit idle and let Mexico undercut our economy. Please join me by signing the below letter calling for the U.S. to renegotiate U.S. NAFTA Annex I (I-U-21), the U.S. commitment to liberalize cross-border trucking, and thus eliminate the requirement to open our borders to Mexican trucks. I believe withdrawing the cross border trucking commitment from NAFTA is the easiest way to eliminate these tariffs while ensuring public safety.

There is precedent for such a renegotiation. In 2005 and again in 2007 the WTO ruled that U.S. laws restricting internet gambling violated the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) Treaty. Congress refused to alter the ban. In response, the Bush Administration began to pursue a similar renegotiation after the WTO authorized sanctions against the United States. That is ongoing as the U.S has to negotiate with dozens of nations. Renegotiating with Mexico would likely be more straightforward.

Join me in calling for a renegotiation, which is the fastest and easiest way to eliminate these tariffs. Please contact me to sign this letter.

Sincerely,
Peter DeFazio
Member of Congress

 

Dear Secretary LaHood and Ambassador Kirk:

You recently received a letter from 56 Members of Congress stressing the need to resolve the retaliatory Mexican tariffs stemming from Congress’s overwhelming rejection of the cross-border demonstration program. We wholeheartedly agree that the U.S. must find a way to eliminate these excessive, arbitrary, and political tariffs.

However, we caution the Administration that we firmly believe it would be difficult, if not impossible, to receive Congressional support for a cross-border trucking program that allows tens of thousands of Mexican trucks traveling across the lower 48 states. NAFTA does not bind the U.S. to accept subpar safety standards, and Congress is not going to waive our rights under NAFTA. We are entitled to require comparable standards for safety from Mexican trucking companies. Their standards are not even close to equivalent to U.S safety requirements. The addition of tens of thousands of substandard Mexican trucks to our roads would jeopardize the safety of our traveling public.

Given these constraints, we offer you a solution that has a greater likelihood of success. We believe the U.S. should renegotiate U.S. NAFTA Annex I (I-U-21), the U.S. commitment to liberalize cross-border trucking, and thus eliminate the requirement to open our borders to Mexican trucks. This would remedy all the truck safety, homeland security, and unemployment issues associated with this long standing trade dispute. A successful renegotiation would also eliminate retaliatory tariffs, which are negatively impacting our export markets.

The current system works well. US trucking firms have testified they have no desire to enter Mexico and become a prized target in the ongoing drug war in Mexico. They have raised legitimate concerns about hijackings, extortion and theft. They are confident the existing current 20 mile commercial border zone is superior to the proposed full cross border program.

As the following timeline demonstrates, Congress has repeatedly and overwhelmingly rejected the cross-border program because it failed to adequately protect Americans from unsafe Mexican trucking standards. In a Congress that rarely agrees on anything, this issue has unified Democrats and Republicans on both sides of the Hill.

• In May of 2007, the House voted overwhelmingly, 411-3, to pass H.R. 1773, the Safe American Roads Act of 2007. This legislation would have imposed additional restrictions on the cross-border demonstration program and ensured that DOT establish a process to analyze the impact of allowing Mexican trucks on our nation's roadways before the border is permanently opened Then-Representative LaHood voted for this bill.

• The FY 2007 Iraq War Supplemental spending bill (P.L. 110-2 included strict measures to ensure that the demonstration program adhered to safety and security guidelines and required that its progress be assessed by an independent panel.

• In 2008, both the House and Senate both passed amendments to the FY 2008 Transportation spending bill to prohibit the use of federal funds to implement the Cross Border Truck Safety Inspection Program. Both then-Senator Obama and Representative LaHood supported these amendments. Ultimately, the prohibition was included in the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-161).

• Finally Congress terminated the cross-border demonstration program in the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-.
Congress has repeatedly objected to the demonstration program because Mexico has not met U.S. safety standards. Mexican access to U.S roadways is dependent on carriers proving they meet U.S. safety standards regarding hours of service, driver training, licensing, drug testing and vehicle safety. However, repeated studies by the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) own Inspector General (IG) show that neither Mexico's carrier truck fleet nor its driver licensing and safety rules meet the requirements of U.S. law.

The cross-border demonstration program was a poor test of the true level of safety that will be seen among Mexico domiciled carriers if the border is opened. The DOT IG’s February, 2009 report found that the low rate of participation in long haul operations among Mexican carriers “was not adequate to provide statistically valid findings that will allow FMCSA to project safety performance of the pool of applicants for long haul operating authority.â€