Senate Bill Would Require DOT to Issue Plan to Resolve U.S.-Mexico Trucking Impasse
This story appears in the Aug. 2 print edition of Transport Topics.
The Obama administration must produce a plan to solve the ongoing border trucking dispute with Mexico by October, under a provision inserted in the Transportation Department’s 2011 budget.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee panel charged with overseeing the Department of Transportation, inserted the language, explaining, “I am extremely frustrated that the administration has not yet acted, while farmers across my home state of Washington continue to suffer under Mexico’s retaliatory tariffs.”
Since last March, Mexico has placed tariffs on $2.4 billion of U.S. exports ranging from Christmas trees to frozen, processed potatoes, in retaliation for closing a cross-border pilot program that allowed Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways.
Administration officials have said they intend to put forth a new plan to reopen the border, but none has been released.
The North American Free Trade Agreement, which went into effect in 1994, requires the United States to allow trucks from Mexico to make deliveries, but a U.S. moratorium limits Mexican trucks to a border transfer zone.
Murray, a Washington Democrat, said in a statement. “I am urging both the Obama Administration and the Mexican government to solve this issue and allow Washington state farmers to compete on a level playing field.”
“We are committed to upholding our international obligations,” DOT spokeswoman Olivia Alair told Transport Topics. “We are also committed to ensuring the safety of American roads and addressing any legitimate safety concerns raised by members of Congress.”
Alair said she didn’t have an updated timetable on the release of a plan. A spokeswoman for U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk also told TT the USTR has no information about a new border plan.
Earlier this year, officials said Mexico intended to issue a new round of tariffs, but the embassy in Washington did not return requests for comment by press time.
In the report that accompanied the Senate appropriations bill, the committee said it was “essential” for the administration to end the dispute and set an Oct. 1 deadline for DOT to issue a plan “to implement a cross-border trucking program that maintains the safety of our roads and highways, enhances the efficient movement of commerce and eliminates harmful and retaliatory tariffs on agricultural products.”
The House’s version of the bill contains no such language, instead calling for an annual report on the safety and security of cross-border trucking between the United States and Canada.
Both appropriations bills have been passed by their respective committees, but neither has been voted on the floor.
Observers said they doubted the administration would put forward a plan before November.
“I would think that the folks at DOT are certainly aware there’s an election coming in a few months and are also aware that cross-border trucking with Mexico isn’t a political winner at this time,” said Rod Nofziger, director of government affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which opposes opening the border.
Staff Reporter Eric Miller contributed to this story.
