Mexico released the list of revised tariffs today is response to the Obama Administrations continued refusal to comply with our obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The biggest impact comes in new agricultural and processed food products. The Mexican government imposed tariffs of 10-20 percent on products like chocolate, ketchup, chewing gum and cheese — all products of the manufacturing sector, made in American factories by American workers.
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Trucks waiting in line for inspection during Road Check 2010 at Mexican "super coop" south of Nuevo Laredo. Mexico is a full partner in CVSA
President Felipe Calderón’s visit to Washington last month carried high expectations for those who hoped for a resolution of the cross-border trade dispute between the United States and Mexico. The Mexican president was expected to address the U.S.’ failure to comply with NAFTA regulations providing for an open border policy regarding ground transportation of goods across the U.S.-Mexican border. However, Calderón chose to focus his May 20 remarks to Congress primarily on U.S. immigration policy and the drug wars, resulting in yet another disappointing moment in the long saga of the cross-border trucking dispute.
Mexico’s dissatisfaction with U.S. border policy, as it relates to NAFTA, is not unfounded. In part attributable to the free trade agreement (FTA), Mexico has moved in to be the second largest U.S. export market, and is the U.S.’ most important trading partner, with a trade flow of approximately $1 billion a day. But in the sixteen years since the FTA went into effect, the U.S. continuously has failed to comply with the open border provision, denying full access to Mexican trucks on the claims of safety concerns on the part of U.S. trucking officials and government authorities. Last March, after over a decade of patient negotiation, Mexico slapped the U.S. agricultural and manufacturing industries with $2.4 billion worth of retaliatory tariffs on eighty-nine U.S. products. Despite the Obama Administration’s repeated pledge to resolve the trade dispute and heavy lobbying efforts on both sides, the U.S. still remains closed to Mexican trucks.
The History of the Dispute
Dave Nemo, one of the more respected voices in Trucking Radio seems ready to abandon principles and feature leaders of bona fide hate groups on his daily program on XM-171
It’s a law that usurps federal authority for immigration enforcement and puts it in the hands of local and state authorities. The fear is, it will lead to racial profiling as it is targeted towards Hispanics.
Governor Brewer claims it specifically prohibits racial profiling, and that claim is still to be determined, but one can’t overlook human nature, especially in Arizona where this law legitimizes the actions of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his masked goon squads that have been terrorizing Hispanics for several years now.
Jesus Serrano, and independent owner operator for a Los Angeles based carrier, who hauls fresh produce from the warehouses in Nogales to the distribution centers in Los Angeles is putting together a boycott of more than 100 truckers who make the Arizona to California haul in protest of this bill which he believes will put himself and others of Mexican-American descent at risk of harassment and/or arrest by overzealous enforcement officers. Serrano is a naturalized US citizen born in Mexico.
Serrano was interviewed yesterday on The Lockridge Report and as usual when someone does a neutral well though out interview, the hate mongers and know nothings immediately filled the phone lines with their negative and totally untrue rants against Mexicans. Kudos to Lockridge for putting the over the top morons in their places are simply hanging up on them.
But the hate and bigotry against Mexicans and Mexican truckers being pushed by OOIDA and others has gotten out of hand.
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On the first anniversary of the shutdown of the Cross Border Trucking program with Mexico, the job losses are mounting for American workers as American business’s continue to lose market share from the LEGAL tariff’s Mexico instituted in retaliation for our failure to comply with our obligations under NAFTA.
57 members of Congress in addition to more than 1400 trade groups have called on President Obama, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk to get the issue settled.
Secretary LaHood stated in a recent interview that they were close to a resolution to the issue.
The tariff’s, the job losses and loss of market share are the fault of people like Teamsters President James Hoffa, OOIDA mouthpiece Todd Spencer and their stooges in Congress such as Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, and James Oberstar of Minnesota, who has strangely, stayed silent during this latest round of debate.
Realizing the very real possibility of the border being open to Mexican trucks who have proven to be safe and compliant with US laws and regulations, Peter DeFazio is preparing a letter for fellow congressmen demanding a renegotiation of Article 1202 of NAFTA, National Treatment of Cross-Border Trade in Services.
The purpose is to forbid Mexican trucks from access to the US and theoretically, remove the legal tariff’s which aare causing so much concern.
The letter, which was sent to OOIDA for their approval, states in part;
Opponents of Mexican trucks want to ban Mexican trucks such as this one that they claim are dangerous, unsafe junk.
Instead, we’re referring to the sophomoric letter to the US Trade Representatives office, by OOIDA President Jim Johnston on February 24.
Similar to the press release by OOIDA’s Norita Taylor that we commented on earlier, Johnston calls on U.S. trade rep to defend American jobs
Johnston made these claims:
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NAFTA compliance, finally / Obama will end 17-year ban on Mexican trucks
Safe Mexican carriers such as this one will soon be seen on US highways as the Obama administration does the right thing and fulfills our promises under NAFTA. The time for the lies, fear mongering and hysteria is over with.
The North American Free Trade Agreement was ratified by Congress almost 17 years ago. It’s about time the United States began honoring a key part of it. A sticking point in the treaty has been the provision allowing truckers from Mexico, Canada and the United States cross-border access to each nation’s highways.
The United States allowed Canadian truckers access, but kept out Mexican trucks. Democratic lawmakers claimed they were worried about “safety concerns” related to the Mexican trucks. But what they were really worried about was how best to cater to labor unions and address the Teamsters’ concerns that Mexican truckers represented unwelcome competition.
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