Bush to Open U.S. to Mexico Trucks

WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush said Feb. 7 that Mexican trucks carrying international cargo will be permitted to operate throughout the U.S., reversing a long-standing Clinton administration policy against the open-border trucking provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The Bush decision came one day after a Nafta arbitration panel formally ruled that the U.S. had violated its obligation to open the U.S.-Mexico border to long-haul trucking. In December 1995, the Clinton administration refused to honor the provision on the eve of its launch, citing concerns about the safety of Mexican trucking. The agreement specified that Mexico and the U.S. would admit trucks from the other country — first in the states touching on the common border, and then in 2000, throughout the territory of both nations.

Since the trade agreement took effect in 1994, nearly 200 Mexican trucking companies, hoping to win access to a huge market, have applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for operating authority to carry freight into the U.S. from Mexico. DOT has taken no action on the applications.

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