As agreed in a meeting between country leaders back in March, the United States has opened its border to Mexican trucks in a pilot program that began yesterday. In return, Mexico will lift tariffs on American goods. The program is an attempt to solve a dispute between the countries that has been ongoing for 17 years - since the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
On Wednesday, July 6, a memorandum of understanding was signed by the U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Mexican Transportation and Communications Secretary Arturo Pérez- Jácome Friscione that outlined the details of the cross-border trucking program. Under this agreement, Mexican trucks will be allowed to enter to United States, provided that they meet all safety standards and are equipped with an electronic monitoring system. The U.S. Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) will be reviewing the records of all drivers and assessing their English comprehension skills. The drivers will also be required to pass a drug test.
The country representatives also signed a second document outlining the removal of Mexico's tariffs on American goods. As per the agreement, Mexico has suspended 50% of its tariffs on nearly 100 American goods, with the remaining 50% to be removed within 10 days, when the first Mexican driver is authorized to drive into the U.S.
The trucking dispute dates back to 1995 and the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement. According to NAFTA, Mexico's trucks should have been allowed to pass into the United States, but as reported on
Bloomberg, "[t]he nation never allowed Mexican trucks full access to the U.S." Most trucks were detained in a border "buffer zone", with American authorities
citing safety and environmental concerns. The rift worsened in 2009 when Mexico responded to the cancellation of a pilot program to allow Mexican trucks access with the imposition of tariffs on American products.
"[The program will] create jobs and opportunity for our people and support economic development in both nations," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
said.
Not everyone is enthusiastic about the deal. "Opening the border to dangerous trucks at a time of high unemployment and rampant drug violence is a shameful abandonment of the DOT's duty to protect American citizens from harm and to spend American tax dollars responsibly,"
said union leader Jim Hoffa. "[The pilot programme] lowers wages and robs jobs from hard-working American truck drivers and warehouse workers."
The program gives Mexican drivers permission to do cross-border runs only; they will not be authorized for deliveries between U.S destiantions. Kyle Burns of Free Trade Alliance San Antonio
said "he doubted the U.S. driver job losses would occur because Mexican drivers, [because] once they make a U.S. delivery, can only take freight back to Mexico. Mexican carriers will not be allowed to pick up and deliver freight within the U.S."
