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.
It didn’t take long for the opponents of Mexican trucks, or for that matter, anything Mexican to come out with their discredited rants opposing the US fulfilling its obligation to allow Mexican trucks access to US roadways in the same manner Canadian trucks have been allowed for more than 10 years. Teamster President James Hoffa was the first out of the chute with his tired sophomoric and overused rhetoric.
Mexico will impose additional import tariffs on U.S. goods in retaliation for the U.S. government’s failure to restore a program allowing Mexican trucks to operate north of the border, according to an official at the Economy Ministry. Mexican Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari plans to announce a new list of U.S. products subject to tariffs today,sources at the ministry advised MTO. The official declined to be identified because he isn’t authorized to speak on the subject. Ferrari said the list will be published this week but refused to give further details. The total value of products tariffed would not exceed $2.5 ….Read More
WASHINGTON — A “frustrated” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., late Monday said she had included language in the Fiscal Year 2011 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill that calls on the Obama administration to put forward a plan that would end retaliatory tariffs on Washington state agricultural products by Oct. 1. The bill passed the THUD subcommittee, which Murray chairs, as well as the full Appropriations committee, and will now head to the full Senate for consideration. “I am extremely frustrated that the administration has not yet acted while farmers across my home state of Washington continue to suffer ….Read More
In a recent post, I commented on allegations made by OOU President Dan Little, accusing FMCSA of falsifying CVSA inspections records for Mexican motor carriers. Mr Little took it upon himself and his organization to respond to that post with the records of 13 “randomly” selected Mexican carriers from the FMCSA SAFERSYS database. Mr Little made these allegations about the carrier list he submitted. They are:
An excellent truckers blog, ASK THE TRUCKER, is reporting the latest challenge to allowing Mexican trucks expanded access to the United States, which is our obligation under the provisions of NAFTA. They bring up the latest questions being raised by an obscure upstart group, OWNER OPERATORS UNITED, headed by Dan Little, a frequent commenter on this site. Taking a ploy from the OOIDA playbook, which has been using unfounded accusations about Mexican trucks and drivers for 16 years, OOU has made the claim about “possible falsification of safety inspections on SafeStat in relation to Mexican trucks” In a press release ….Read More
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, ….Read More
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood Thursday told a Senate subcommittee than the Obama administration’s intention was to restart the Cross Border Demonstration Project with Mexico and that a new proposal would be presented to senators “very soon” and that it was even “very close.” Two months ago, LaHood told the same panel that a new proposal was “very near.” LaHood’s comments Thursday came during questioning from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. LaHood and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan were testifying before a subcommittee on an Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
NAFTA compliance, finally / Obama will end 17-year ban on Mexican trucks
BY UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL BOARD 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 ….Read More