The Bush administration decided to implement the trucking provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement in February after a NAFTA arbitration panel ruled the United States must open its borders to Mexican trucks or face possible trade sanctions.
In 1993, the United States, Mexico and Canada signed the North American Free Trade Agreement. The United States and Canada had signed a trade pact in the 1980s, but NAFTA represented a “regional” agreement that would eliminate all tariffs and other trade barriers between the three countries. Some of these barriers were dropped immediately; other provisions have been phased in over time.
Cross-border trucking between the United States and Mexico was one of the provisions phased in. Beginning in 1995, each country’s trucks were allowed to travel only within limited trade zones along the border. NAFTA called for full access beginning in January 2000, but the Clinton administration, citing safety concerns, refused to allow Mexican trucks beyond the border trade zones.
Mexico filed a protest with a special NAFTA panel which issued a final ruling Feb. 6 saying that while the United States could require Mexican trucks to meet its safety standards, it had to allow Mexican truckers access to U.S. roadways. On Feb. 22, the Bush administration said it would begin work immediately to comply with the panel’s ruling. President Bush also promised additional safety inspectors to help ensure those trucks that cross the border meet U.S. safety standards.
Despite President Bush’s decision to move ahead on opening the country’s southern border, don’t expect to see a flood of Mexican trucks rolling over American highways anytime soon. The decision only means that the two governments will continue to work out the procedures for cross-border trucking. According to industry insiders, that means agreeing to the rules that Mexican carriers must follow when applying for authority to operate in the states.
The trucking industry believes Mexican carriers should comply with the same regulations and meet the same requirements as U.S. carriers to obtain U.S. operating authority – especially safety and insurance standards. But the rules and regulations are only a “part of the puzzle.” U.S. and Mexico trade negotiators will also need to address infrastructure and other issues.
“The issues are really in the details,” of the agreement says Martin Rojas, director of cross border operations for the American Trucking Associations. Whatever the final details, however, Rojas says he doesn’t expect to see a flood of Mexican truckers rolling across the nation’s highways.
