DeclinetoState
03-31-2007, 09:37 AM
You've been warned.
Is Congress going to apply the brakes to the benefits of U.S.-Mexico trade?
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A22
ANOTHER ANTI-NAFTA pile-on is brewing in Washington this week. Even though the United States has gained jobs, wealth and goodwill from the regional trade pact, for years opponents of free trade have tried to persuade American leaders to ditch one of the agreement's most benign provisions -- allowing Mexican freight trucks onto American roads. When the United States signed the treaty in 1993, it promised to allow such trucks in, scheduling implementation for 2000. But lobbying from the Teamsters and others with economic turf to protect have held that up -- until now.
Finally, after years of lawsuits, congressional meddling and cross-border negotiation, the Transportation Department and its Mexican counterpart have announced that they will pursue a "demonstration project" allowing trucks from 100 screened Mexican carriers to use American roadways freely. Under the program, U.S. inspectors working in Mexico will thoroughly vet the carriers, including every truck and every driver they send over the border, checking for such things as safety features, U.S.-licensed insurance coverage and knowledge of U.S. traffic signs. After the year-long demonstration phase, the Mexican undersecretary for transportation says, the two governments plan to allow all carriers from both countries access to each other's highways, and U.S. officials say that the inspection regime will be comparably extensive then.
Such requirements are far more burdensome than what NAFTA and common sense require. Under the treaty, Mexican trucks operating in the United States are subject to American trucking regulations, the enforcement of which should be enough to ensure safety on American roads. The Transportation Department points out that since it increased enforcement in the border zone -- a pocket of American territory into which Mexican trucks are currently allowed to travel -- Mexican trucks have become just as reliable as American ones, as measured by how many trucks are regularly out of service.More (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR2007030702152.html)
Is Congress going to apply the brakes to the benefits of U.S.-Mexico trade?
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A22
ANOTHER ANTI-NAFTA pile-on is brewing in Washington this week. Even though the United States has gained jobs, wealth and goodwill from the regional trade pact, for years opponents of free trade have tried to persuade American leaders to ditch one of the agreement's most benign provisions -- allowing Mexican freight trucks onto American roads. When the United States signed the treaty in 1993, it promised to allow such trucks in, scheduling implementation for 2000. But lobbying from the Teamsters and others with economic turf to protect have held that up -- until now.
Finally, after years of lawsuits, congressional meddling and cross-border negotiation, the Transportation Department and its Mexican counterpart have announced that they will pursue a "demonstration project" allowing trucks from 100 screened Mexican carriers to use American roadways freely. Under the program, U.S. inspectors working in Mexico will thoroughly vet the carriers, including every truck and every driver they send over the border, checking for such things as safety features, U.S.-licensed insurance coverage and knowledge of U.S. traffic signs. After the year-long demonstration phase, the Mexican undersecretary for transportation says, the two governments plan to allow all carriers from both countries access to each other's highways, and U.S. officials say that the inspection regime will be comparably extensive then.
Such requirements are far more burdensome than what NAFTA and common sense require. Under the treaty, Mexican trucks operating in the United States are subject to American trucking regulations, the enforcement of which should be enough to ensure safety on American roads. The Transportation Department points out that since it increased enforcement in the border zone -- a pocket of American territory into which Mexican trucks are currently allowed to travel -- Mexican trucks have become just as reliable as American ones, as measured by how many trucks are regularly out of service.More (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR2007030702152.html)