President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon agreed Thursday to a program that will allow Mexican trucks to travel into the United States, the Associated Press reported.
Trucks from Mexico would be required to meet U.S. safety and environmental standards in order to be allowed into the country, AP said, quoting an official in the Obama administration.
Obama and Calderon announced the deal at a press conference Thursday afternoon in Washington.
Under the agreement, Mexico would eventually lift tariffs it placed on dozens of U.S. products in response to the banning of its trucks from U.S. roads, AP said.
Leaders from both countries will negotiate further details of the plan, which will be phased in, and the deal will require approval from the U.S. Congress before it takes effect, Bloomberg reported.
American Trucking Associations is “pleased” that the leaders have come to an agreement, President Bill Graves said in a statement.
“When properly implemented, NAFTA’s trucking provisions should evolve to allow for a more efficient, safe and secure environment for cross-border operations between the U.S. and Mexico,” Graves said.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which has consistently opposed the plan, said in a statement it was “outraged” by the proposed agreement.
“For all the president’s talk of helping small businesses survive, his administration is sure doing their best to destroy small trucking companies and the drivers they employ,” OOIDA said.
Mexico and the United States are required under the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement to allow trucks access to each others’ roads. The U.S. ended its program allowing Mexican trucks across its border in 2009 after Congress raised safety objections.
