Opening the Border
Congratulations to the U.S. Department of Transportation for finalizing the cross-border trucking program with Mexico.
The signing last week in Mexico City, while certainly overdue, was still good news for both nations, which are strong trading partners.
The July 6 ceremony between Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and his Mexican counterpart, Dionisio Arturo Pérez-Jácome, should lead to the quick opening of the border to trucks from both nations, as originally provided for in the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.
And as a result, Mexico announced that it would quickly drop half of the $2.4 billion in annual punitive tariffs it has been imposing on U.S. goods because their truckers weren’t being allowed to operate here. Mexican officials said they would drop the balance of the tariffs as soon as the first Mexican truck receives its authority to operate in the United States.
As ATA President Bill Graves said after the signing, “American Trucking Associations welcomes this latest step in improving the efficiency of trucking and trade at our southern border. By signing this historic agreement, the U.S. and Mexico have laid the groundwork for continued economic growth on both sides of the border.”
We hope that this agreement will end the more than 16-year tussle over opening the border and will successfully continue a pilot project begun in 2007 but closed two years later after Congress intervened and removed the funding.
The usual critics made their displeasure clear soon after the signing, but we’re hopeful that DOT will not be deterred this time and will give the program time to prove that fleets can operate safely on both sides of the border, as they do along the U.S.-Canadian border.
The program is designed to last for three years and requires Mexican fleets first to pass an 11-step safety check, including proof that the applicant carrier has in place an acceptable hours-of-service compliance program and a drug-and-alcohol testing regime.
Following that, carriers would be granted provisional authority and would be subject to inspections every time one of its trucks crosses the border. After 18 months of successful, safe operations, fleets would be granted permanent operating authority.
Mexican fleets will be subject to the same rules that govern U.S. fleets, which we believe is a necessary element of opening the border. And we’re pleased that this agreement will allow U.S.-based fleets to compete in Mexico.
