Skip to content

Mexican Officials Want U.S. Action on the Cross-border Trucking Dispute

Truckinginfo staff

Mexico will no longer accept a U.S. pilot program as a way of allowing Mexican trucks to operate in the U.S., the Journal of Commerce quoted a senior Mexican diplomat as saying on Friday.

“If you put in place a demonstration project similar to what we had, it can begin, but it can be defunded at any time,” said Jose Luis Paz Vega, the head of the trade and North American Free Trade Agreement office at the Mexican embassy in Washington. “Mexico is not willing to take that any more. We need a program that is permanent, that has certainty, and complies with NAFTA. And we’re not willing to accept anything less than that.”

The dispute over granting Mexican trucks access to the U.S. market has been simmering ever since the NAFTA was signed in 1994. It came to a head in 2009, when the Democratic Congress put the brakes on a pilot project initiated by the Bush Administration in 2007.

In response to the Congressional move, Mexico imposed tariffs on U.S. goods valued at more than $2 billion in retaliation for the U.S. refusal to admit Mexican trucks. The tariffs are sanctioned since a NAFTA panel found the U.S. violated the terms of the trade agreement in 1998 by barring Mexican motor carriers.

Mexico escalated the fight over cross-border trucking in August by imposing import tariffs on an expanded list of U.S. products in retaliation for the U.S.’s failure to produce a plan to open the border.

“Mexico will continue to avail itself of all legal means to achieve full compliance by the United States under its commitments under the (North American Free Trade Agreement),” said the Mexican Embassy in a statement. At the same time, the statement continued, Mexico will continue to work with the administration and Congress to find a solution.

During last week’s gathering at the Mexican embassy in Washington, Paz pointed out that it takes three trucks to move goods from Mexico to the U.S.: one that goes to the U.S. border, a second that drays the van across the border, and a third to move goods to their destination He called it an inefficiency that was harming the North American economy.

Paz said that the Obama administration appears ready to resolve the issue. “I think they are waiting until the right time to do it,” the JOC quoted Paz as saying. “Unfortunately that time has not come now for 15 years.”

Back in May, during a hearing of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the Obama Administration was “very close” to announcing a plan that would resolve the cross-border trucking dispute with Mexico.

The issue was raised by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairman of the subcommittee, for the second time. Murray questioned LaHood about the same issue in March, when he said, “We are very near a proposal.”

“Back in March, I urged you and the administration to move quickly to craft a plan to resume cross-border trucking with Mexico in a way that would address the safety concerns raised during the pilot and end the tariffs imposed by the Mexican government,” Murray said at the time.

Murray wanted to make sure the proposal was really near this time around, interrupting LaHood with, “Sooner than soon?” LaHood responded saying, “It is closer than soon.”

Unconfirmed reports circulating after Paz’s comments suggest the administration is wait until after the Nov. 2 election to make any announcement on reinstating the cross-border trucking program.

Printer Friendly Version
Email This Story
RSS
Bookmark and Share

Safety Security: Related News

10/21/2010 – Mexican Officials Want U.S. Action on the Cross-border Trucking Dispute

Mexico will no longer accept a U.S. pilot program as a way of allowing Mexican trucks to operate in the U.S….
More

10/19/2010 – Teamwork Key to Operation Safe Driver

Enforcement officials across the country this week are cracking down on unsafe fleets, unsafe truck drivers, and car drivers who drive unsafely around large trucks.

Operation Safe Driver got an official kick-off during the American Trucking Associations’ annual management conference Monday, with FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro, enforcement officials and ATA emphasizing the enforcement and education effort’s team approach….
More

10/18/2010 – Record Number of Trucks Inspected During Brake Safety Week; Brake OOS Rate Drops

The number of vehicles inspected during Operation Air Brake’s “Brake Safety Week” reached a historic high this year, while also showing a significant drop in the number of out-of-service defects for brake components and overall out-of-service defects….
More

10/18/2010 – UMTRI: Lane Departure Warning Systems Improve Accident Avoidance

A year-long field test by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and Takata Corporation have shown that an integrated system of crash warning technologies can improve crash avoidance…
More

10/13/2010 – ABS Accounts for 3% Crash Reduction

The use of antilock braking systems on the tractor unit has reduced the number of police-reported crashes for air-braked tractor-trailers by an estimated 3 percent, according to a recent study released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration….
More

10/8/2010 – $63 Million Settlement Reached in Suit Over Oklahoma Crash

The families of eight people killed in a truck crash last year on the Oklahoma Turnpike have settled a lawsuit for $62.7 million….
More

10/7/2010 – CVSA, FMCSA to Target Aggressive Drivers During Operation Safe Driver

Although substantial progress is being made in driving down commercial motor vehicle-related deaths, enforcement across North America will come down hard on those caught driving aggressively during Operation Safe Driver, October 17-23….
More

10/7/2010 – NTSB: Highway Deaths Fall in 2009

Transportation fatalities in the United States decreased by 9.2 percent in 2009 from 2008, according to preliminary figures released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board….
More

10/5/2010 – Study: Mandatory Alcohol Testing Cuts Risk of Alcohol Involvement in Fatal Crashes

A study by scientists at Columbia University found that mandatory alcohol testing programs for commercial truck drivers may have contributed to a significant reduction in alcohol involvement in fatal motor carrier crashes….
More

10/5/2010 – CVSA Recognizes Safety-Minded Enforcement Officials

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance recognized three enforcement leaders who will make up the first-ever CVSA International Safety Team….
More

10/4/2010 – Drive Safely Work Week Kicks Off Today

Oct. 4-8 is Drive Safety Work Week, an annual campaign presented by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety….
More

10/1/2010 – Mouthpiece Offers Sleep Apnea Treatment Alternative

Truckers with sleep apnea now have access to an easy-to-use sleep-time mouthpiece that’s an alternative to the continuous positive airway pressure machine (CPAP) that is the most common treatment….
More

9/29/2010 – NTSB Says Driver Fatigue at the Root of Fatal Oklahoma Truck Wreck

The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that driver fatigue stemming from acute sleep loss was to blame in a multi-vehicle crash that claimed 10 lives in Oklahoma last year….
More

9/29/2010 – New Bill Would Mandate EOBRs; Backed by Major Trucking Companies

Five major transportation companies today announced their support for legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) that would require trucking companies engaged in interstate commerce to install electronic on-board recorders in all trucks….
More

9/28/2010 – Governors’ Safety Group Sidesteps Cell Phone Ban

The Governors Highway Safety Association declined to follow Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s lead and passed on an opportunity to call for an outright ban on cellphone use and test-messaging while driving….
More

9/23/2010 – FMCSA Webinar to Examine 2009’s Historic Truck Crash Decline

The FMCSA Office of Analysis, Research and Technology will host a webinar examining last year’s historic decline in truck crashes. The webinar will be held Wednesday, Sept. 29, 1-2 p.m. Eastern Time….
More

9/22/2010 – Texting, Eating, Talking Top Distracted Driving Behaviors in Study

When it looked at the most common activities going on in the cab before a crash, SmartDrive Systems found that operating a handheld device, like texting on a phone or operating a GPS, was the most common. Eating/drinking/smoking came in second, and talking on a mobile phone came in third….
More

9/21/2010 – Distracted Driving Summit Opens Today

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will convene a second National Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, D.C., today….
More

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
We'll deliver tax strategies to your inbox from our CPA firm.
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.