Mexican President Calderon Urges End to Trucking Dispute
Mexican President Felipe Calderon, visiting Washington this week, said that Mexico and the United States must work toward resolving the dispute between the two nations over allowing Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways, Bloomberg reported.
Calderon, speaking to reporters after meeting with President Obama, said a resolution that will allow cross-border trucking is vital to ensuring trade and commerce between the two countries.
He said the two countries will “continue to work to solve this quickly,” Bloomberg reported. About 80% of Mexican exports go to the United States.
As part of the North American Free Trade Agreement that took effect in 1994, the U.S. agreed to let Mexican trucks travel freely through the country under a pilot program started under the Bush administration.
But in March 2009, Congress ended the program that had allowed Mexican trucks to deliver goods in the U.S. after lawmakers said Mexican vehicles posed a potential safety threat.
Mexico responded by placing about $2.4 billion in tariffs on products from the United States. (Click here for March 15 Editorial.)
In March, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said he was “hopeful” the two nations could resolve the dispute. The countries set up a group last month to work on the “next steps’ to resume allowing Mexican trucks on U.S. roads.
