Mexican Trucking Group Challenges US Cross-Border Trucking

Mexico’s main trucking association has filed a $30 billion arbitration action against the United States over the country’s refusal to fully allow Mexican carriers to operate within U.S. boundaries.

The Cámara Nacional del Autotransporte de Carga, or Canacar, filed the action along with 30,000 Mexican fleets, Fox News reported. The North American Free Trade Agreement, which took effect in 1994, requires the United States to allow Mexican trucks into the country.

Canacar criticized the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s cross-border trucking pilot project, saying “in no way has it served as a mechanism for U.S. compliance with its requirements under Nafta,” Fox News said, quoting Canacar.

President Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto will meet Feb. 19 to discuss trade issues, including cross-border trucking, Fox News said.

FMCSA’s pilot program started in 2011 after a previous demonstration project was canceled in 2009, causing Mexico to impose $2.4 billion in annual tariffs on American goods. Those tariffs stopped when FMCSA launched its program.