Cross-border trucking project under fire on Capitol Hill
Cross-border trucking project under fire on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON -- A broad coalition of groups urged Congress to continue a pilot program that would allow cross-border truck deliveries into the United States and Mexico, though Congress has passed legislation to cut the program's funding.
Since 1982, trucks from Mexico have been allowed to operate within the United States in commercial zones that include cities such as Brownsville and El Paso in Texas; Nogales in Arizona; and San Diego, but U.S. trucks have never had the authority from the Mexican federal government to operate south of the border. The U.S. Department of Transportation began allowing approved Mexican carriers to operate more deeply in the United States and U.S. carriers to deliver in Mexico under a North American Free Trade Agreement pilot program launched in September. The program has come under fire from Teamsters and congressional opponents since it began.
"It is imperative that Congress fully implement NAFTA and allow the U.S. Department of Transportation to fully implement its cross-border pilot trucking program with Mexico," said Emily Beizer, vice president of international affairs for the Grocery Manufacturers Association. "By not fully implementing the cross-border pilot trucking program, the U.S. is not living up to its obligations under NAFTA, and that will invite Mexico to take retaliatory action through trade restrictions against the U.S."
Transportation Secretary Mary Peters urged Congress at a March 10 hearing not to derail the Cross-Border Trucking Demonstration Project because of the benefits it provides to U.S. exporters.
"Whatever their reason, this is no time to let the politics of pessimism dim the promise of prosperity for hundreds of thousands of American drivers, growers and manufacturers," she said. "We should be looking for every chance to open new markets for our drivers, to find new buyers for our products and encourage new consumers for our produce."
Secretary Peters maintained that safety is still the department's foremost priority, and she added that a rigorous safety inspection plan and trained professionals are in place to ensure that every truck in the program meets every U.S. safety standard on the books - as well as additional safeguards.
But a report by the DOT inspector general said that the program has attracted too few Mexican carriers to determine the program's safety record. "The low number of carriers currently participating is not sufficient to provide reliable statistical projections regarding safety attributes of Mexican carriers," said the March 10 report to Congress.
Since 1982, trucks from Mexico have been allowed to operate within the United States in commercial zones that include cities such as Brownsville and El Paso in Texas; Nogales in Arizona; and San Diego, but U.S. trucks have never had the authority from the Mexican federal government to operate south of the border. The U.S. Department of Transportation began allowing approved Mexican carriers to operate more deeply in the United States and U.S. carriers to deliver in Mexico under a North American Free Trade Agreement pilot program launched in September. The program has come under fire from Teamsters and congressional opponents since it began.
"It is imperative that Congress fully implement NAFTA and allow the U.S. Department of Transportation to fully implement its cross-border pilot trucking program with Mexico," said Emily Beizer, vice president of international affairs for the Grocery Manufacturers Association. "By not fully implementing the cross-border pilot trucking program, the U.S. is not living up to its obligations under NAFTA, and that will invite Mexico to take retaliatory action through trade restrictions against the U.S."
Transportation Secretary Mary Peters urged Congress at a March 10 hearing not to derail the Cross-Border Trucking Demonstration Project because of the benefits it provides to U.S. exporters.
"Whatever their reason, this is no time to let the politics of pessimism dim the promise of prosperity for hundreds of thousands of American drivers, growers and manufacturers," she said. "We should be looking for every chance to open new markets for our drivers, to find new buyers for our products and encourage new consumers for our produce."
Secretary Peters maintained that safety is still the department's foremost priority, and she added that a rigorous safety inspection plan and trained professionals are in place to ensure that every truck in the program meets every U.S. safety standard on the books - as well as additional safeguards.
But a report by the DOT inspector general said that the program has attracted too few Mexican carriers to determine the program's safety record. "The low number of carriers currently participating is not sufficient to provide reliable statistical projections regarding safety attributes of Mexican carriers," said the March 10 report to Congress.
