In February of this year Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced the U.S. will grant a maximum of 1,000 Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways for up to three years under a new pilot program. At the moment, Mexican trucking companies are allowed to transport goods within a 25-mile buffer zone from its borders into the United States. American trucks are currently not allowed into Mexico.
In the past three months there has been a great debate in Washington about what this trucking provision should allow and how much of an impact it would have on America's truck drivers.
To bring you up to date on this subject:
Last week, a coalition of groups led by Public Citizen, the Teamsters Union and The Sierra Club, said they have filed a suit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to block the government's pilot program to allow Mexican Trucks into the U.S. claiming it would allow unsafe Mexican trucks onto U.S. highways. Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President, said the pilot program was "reckless" and "must be stopped [to keep] the driving public protected."
This Monday, the Department of Transportation said it would delay its plan to allow Mexican trucks into the United States until U.S. trucks are allowed into Mexico because of congressional pressure. Previously, U.S. trucks were not scheduled to enter Mexico until six months after Mexican trucks were provided U.S. access.
Yesterday, the House passed the latest congressional measure to make it more difficult for Mexican trucks to have free access to U.S. roads, barring them from moving loads between two U.S. points and require Mexican companies prove their drivers are proficient in English.
Representative John Duncan (R-Tenn) said that several U.S. trucking companies are interested in cross-border deliveries to Mexico, while nearly 800 Mexican companies want to drive in the U.S.
As of today, the pilot program is delayed and the Department of Transportation will take public comments for the next 30 days.
The Mexican government said this week it wants the pilot program to start July 15th and full implementation of NAFTA's trucking provisions in one-year. With the pressure labor groups are giving the government, it doesn't look like the program will start on time.
Mexican trucks haven't been allowed to drive in the U.S. since 1982 in response to Mexico barring U.S. motor carriers south of the boarder earlier that year.
What ever happened to George Bush's dream of Free Trade in North America? If the American people did not step up the pressure, the Bush administration was going to allow Mexican trucking companies to transport American goods domestically. This would have been a devastating blow to the American trucking industry.
Thirteen years ago, the implementation of NAFTA threatened the U.S. the trucking industry and was disliked by millions of Americans. With the continued changes in this pilot program, it's clear the government has now entered a protectionist stance brought on as the American people start to wake up and pressure congress to make things right. By now, negative feelings towards NAFTA haven't changed, they've only grown stronger.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-07-2007 @ 6:04AM
papakriston said...
If the US Government was so interested about public safety they would completely stop the trucking industry alltogether for every weekend. Then families could enjoy driving safe on the US roads.
After all most US roads were built by vehicle registration fees. The trucking industry did not contribute much if any at all in those days when major roads were developed. Why are they taking over now? Our children deserve such protection on the roads if the government would care.
Do you think this is an impossible idea? Take a look at Europe. Most countries do not allow trucking from Friday night until Sunday night! Are the life of American families lesser value for the government than the profit they make from the trucking industries? In Europe families come first, and they really mean it!
5-07-2007 @ 6:04AM
othertrucker2001 said...
I guess you will be willing to wait from Friday night to Sunday night to buy groceries for your family in the event that you ran out of food. Yeah! That makes good sense.
5-07-2007 @ 6:04AM
othertrucker2001 said...
Let's get a little closer to home here. I deliver IV solutions to many area hospitals. This solution does not have a very long self life, so hospitals need to keep it coming in on a regular basis. I have deliveries that HAVE to be made on Friday so they will have the product thru the weekend. Would you mind if a family member waited until Monday if they needed to to be hospitilized on Friday? There are countless reasons trucks should be allowed to run seven days a week. You don't stop living just because there are dangers in this world. As far as dangerous trucks and truck drivers--take that up with your lawmakers. I, as a born and breed US citizen/truckdriver, have to PROOVE to the US that I am not a terrorist, drug addict, thief, felon, habitual drunk driver, or anything in between. I also carry hazardous materials. Yep! The same ones we are worried stiff about, that some people would love to get there hands on and use to do harm to the American public. That's a good idea. MAKE me sit for the weekend so some fool will have a better chance to take control of my truck and use it to kill your family. Sitting in a truckstop or rest area for the weekend is not the best of conditions for anybody. The same people that we worry will do harm to us, do not have to have the training that REAL truck drivers are required to have. When they steal a truck, they just kill another American so they can kill more Americans. Instead of being afraid and complaining about trucks and drivers, be active and report dangerous drivers. Report odd activity to the proper agency. Be informed of what drivers should and should not be doing. Be informed of how to drive close to, around, in front of and behind a truck. Don't just assume the driver is looking out for you. That is your job as well as his or hers. If you would take the time to find the facts and prepare yourself accordingly, you and your family will be safer on the roads.
5-07-2007 @ 6:05AM
gcpm said...
I dont know why you americans are so against NAFTA if you ask me Mexico is the one that gets hurt the most. American companies come to Mexico and can get all the cheap labor they want improving the US economy greatly while only marginally helping the Mexican one. Its stupid to think the trucking industry would be severley cripled by Mexican truckers, sure there might be some jobs lost but it wont be the catastrophe you seem to envision.
5-07-2007 @ 6:06AM
othertrucker2001 said...
Oh get a life. The trucking industry will falter just as the farming industry did here when the mexicans starting "migrating" to the US. Millions of Americans lost their jobs working on farms because the Mexicans came and would work cheaper. The only reason they work cheaper is they are illegal workers in this country. They HAVE to work cheaper. Now they want the same benefits as Americans. BULL! Everybody suffers including the "migrants". If they would come here the proper way, get admitted, become a US citizen it would be different. Don't tell me the trucking industry is not going to suffer. It already is.