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[HR-1611] Bill introduced in Congress to Amend FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill

From the most unlikely of corners, American heroes and Patriots emerge.

Rep. Jeff Flake , R-Ariz., introduced legislation March 19 (HR 1611) that would restart the pilot truck program. He said that would bring the United States into compliance with NAFTA.

“It defies logic that the U.S. would risk a trade war during a recession with our third-largest trading partner just because we refuse to allow less than 100 trucks from Mexico into the country,” Flake said in a statement.

He also sent a letter to President Obama offering to help him put the program back together. Obama has said he is interested in revisiting a cross-border trucking program to honor NAFTA. The president is planning a trip to Mexico in mid-April, where he is expected to discuss the topic.

The bill was immediately assigned to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

It’s a very simple bill, explicit in it’s wording.

To amend the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 to repeal a provision prohibiting the use of funds for a cross-border motor carrier demonstration program to allow Mexican-domiciled motor carriers to operate beyond the commercial zones along the international border between the United States and Mexico.

We’ll see what happens. I think the outcome will be much different than before when Byron Dorgan, in cahoots with Oberstar and Defazio, slipped Section 136 in below the radar.

Meanwhile, as we keep an eye on the pulse of America regarding this issue, the editorial and opinions in newspapers large and small across the country suggest overwhelming opposition to our violation of the NAFTA accords, especially in light of the superb safety and compliance record exhibited by participants in the Cross Border Demonstration Program from both sides of the border.

Representative Jeff Flake! What a man! What a TRUE PATRIOTIC AMERICAN HERO

This letter was written by Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona to President Obama advising of introduction of HR1611 and his support of the Mexican Cross Border Program

President Obama – Tell Jimmy Hoffa to kiss your ass and do the right thing!

A Small and Dangerous Spat

President Obama has been warning that tit-for-tat protectionism could drive the world into an even worse economic slump than it is already in. He is right. Unfortunately, Congress doesn’t seem to be listening.

The $410 billion spending bill that Mr. Obama signed into law last week cuts off financing for a pilot program that allows Mexican trucks to deliver goods across the United States. The move clearly violates the North American Free Trade Agreement, which promised — starting in 2000 — to open cargo transport throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada to carriers from all three countries. This week, Mexico retaliated, leveling tariffs against $2.4 billion worth of American imports.

Both the United States and Mexico must be careful. A full-fledged fight could threaten more than $350 billion in annual commerce between the two countries. That is clearly in nobody’s interest.

An arbitration panel ruled in 2001 that the United States was in breach of its Nafta obligations on Mexican trucks. But thanks to the Teamsters union and its allies in Congress, all but a small number of Mexican carriers are restricted to operating within a 25-mile band from the border.

The truck drivers’ argument that Mexican trucks are unsafe is spurious — a flimsy cover for protectionism. Data from the Department of Transportation show that Mexican trucks and drivers operating in the United States — along the border and in the pilot program — have a better inspection record, with fewer violations, than their American counterparts.

President Obama has so far shown a worrying ambivalence about trade. He has called for renegotiating Nafta, creating anxiety in both Ottawa and Mexico City — claiming that this can somehow be done without harming trade. While he managed to persuade Congressional Democrats to water down a “Buy American” provision in the fiscal stimulus package, he did not get them to pull it altogether.

We understand the White House did not want to threaten the passage of the spending bill by raising a ruckus over Mexican trucking, a comparatively minor issue. But it is time for Mr. Obama to put some political muscle behind his declared support for open trade.

He can start by persuading Congress to revive the truck pilot program or start a new one. And he must make clear that — sometime soon — all properly inspected Mexican trucks must be able to work throughout the country, as Nafta requires. That would not only solve this trade spat, but it would provide the world with needed reassurance that the United States will stand by its trade agreements in these difficult times.

Editorial The New York Times

Lone Star Times – Trade Wars Are Stupid and Destructive

There are many good articles out there this morning decrying the Teamsters and others for getting us into this mess we’re in today, but I am going to liberally quote this excellent report from the Lone Star Times

LST leads off with one of Jim Hoffa’s oft repeated lies about the program.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters hailed the end of the road for the trucking program, and issued a sharp rebuke of Mexico’s retaliatory action Monday. “The right response from Mexico would be to make sure its drivers and trucks are safe enough to use our highways without endangering our drivers,” Teamsters President James Hoffa said.

followed by a quote from Hoffa’s Congressional puppet who at first glance would appear to have had a change of heart or grown a pair to go against his master.

A long-time critic of the program, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D., N.D.) said he would work with the Obama administration to address the safety concerns. “I have said all along that I have no problem with Mexican long-haul trucks being allowed into the United States if it can be done safely,” he said.

Faithfully adhering to the script written two decades ago, Democrats, Teamsters and anti-free traders all continue to display their allegiance to a tired and decrepit ideology conservatives and libertarians have fought for generations to bury. The spectacular success of global trade over the last twenty plus years has raised the standard of living for people around the world and brought a level of wealth to America earlier generations would find astonishing.

After formal negotiations begun in 1990, a majority vote of Republicans in Congress saw passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993, creating the second largest free trade bloc in the world measured by combined GDP. The treaty was born under a Republican regime and eventually ratified and signed into law by a Democratic president. The hard economic realities are irrefutable concerning the benefits of NAFTA to the three member nations.

The Obama administration has angered the Mexican government by violating a provision of a treaty we agreed to and ratified nearly sixteen years ago. There are many issues on which the Mexican government can be justifiably criticized, but not this one. America has spent all these years breaking one promise after another in violating compliance with one of the most important treaties ever signed by this nation.

Trade wars have very often resembled barroom brawls beginning with one man punching another who then hits a bystander who then slugs an onlooker without warning. They have a way of spiraling quickly out of control and culminate in everyone in the room suffering terribly.

It is time now for America to live up to her obligations, cease coddling industries and unions while stoking protectionist fears around the world by displaying our fecklessness. The current precarious state of global markets does not need the lack of confidence and fear of retaliation generated by the USA arbitrarily breaking its word. This country, our neighbors and allies across the globe need now, more than ever, strong and steady leadership and that begins first with keeping our word.

Democratic critics have questioned whether Mexican authorities maintained adequate safety records on drivers, as well as whether Mexican drivers spoke English and were adequately tested for drugs and alcohol. – Wall Street Journal

The DOT OIG Final Report signed off on the pseudo concerns of the critics.

The carriers involved in the program have had their entire operations scrutinized by FMCSA as part of the PASA process. And the report stated that Mexico has made significant gains in it’s drug testing program, which coincidentally, is tied into the issuance of the Licensia Federal, something only now being discussed in Washington for American drivers. And the tests are given by government facilities by government doctors and lab techs. This is something that Hoffa and others try to get you to ignore.

The Wall Street Journal further expose the outrageous lies of Hoffa and others.

When G-20 finance ministers met in England over the weekend to discuss a way out of the global financial crisis, the group pledged to eschew trade protectionism.

That sounds good. But some of the governments represented at the meeting aren’t walking the walk on global commerce at home. Instead they’re taking the side of special interests that want to weaken foreign competition. One culprit that comes to mind is the U.S.

In violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the U.S. last week again closed its southern border to any Mexican trucks additional to those with existing permits. It did so on the usual grounds that Mexican trucks are unsafe, even though that hoary claim has been demolished by extensive testing. But Congress and President Barack Obama are catering to the Teamsters union, which has spent more than a decade lobbying to keep Mexican competition off U.S. highways.

Candidate Obama ran for president as a protectionist, with a special emphasis on a promise to block ratification of U.S. free trade agreements with South Korea and Colombia. Big Labor was a big giver to Mr. Obama’s campaign and he owes it big time. Last week he began paying up. During confirmation hearings, his nominee to be U.S. Trade Representative, Ron Kirk, sharply criticized both agreements.

Yet if Mr. Obama and congressional Democrats were not expected to champion freer trade, some hoped they would not reverse liberalization gains of recent years. The decision on Mexican trucks last week shows they are doing just that.

Everyone whines about border security….

There would also be security gains if trucks carried cargo in both directions. As it stands now, once cargo is off-loaded in the border zone, the vehicle returns home empty. This creates many opportunities for smuggling drugs, weapons and cash.

And about the safety record, new and old!

Mexican trucking in the U.S. is not new. More than 800 Mexican carriers — all of which are majority owned by Americans — have permits that were grandfathered more than 20 years ago. And their safety record is enviable. A 2007 DOT study of the performance of Mexican carriers in the U.S. from 2003-2006 found Mexican trucks to be safer than U.S. trucks. Even Mexican short-haul trucks operating in the border zone had a better record than U.S. trucks.

And surprise, surprise!!!

he 27 Mexican carriers in the pilot program compiled an impressive safety record in 2008, judging by the rate at which randomly stopped vehicles received an “out-of-service” designation — meaning they did not comply with all safety regulations — from DOT inspectors. Whereas all U.S. carriers had a vehicle “out-of-service” rate of 21.6%, all Mexican carriers had a rate of 20.7% and Mexican carriers in the pilot program had a rate of 7.3%.

So how have Congress and President Obama responded to this success? They killed the program by prohibiting its funding in the new $410 billion omnibus spending bill. This ends new Mexican competition in trucking.

Mexico says it will retaliate, and if it’s smart it will hit U.S. producers in strategic markets. This will be bad for Mexican consumers, but if constituents of protectionist U.S. senators feel the pain, it might succeed in changing attitudes in Congress. Given the political muscle of the Teamsters, there aren’t many other options.

So the question is. Who do you believe? The oversight arm of Congress in the guise of the Office of Inspector General? Do you believe proven statistics gleaned from roadside inspection reports? Or do you believe the rantings of one little thug with a hard on for Mexico since his union is not allowed to organize there?

Can you imagine how quickly he would be singing a different tune if Mexican law allowed him to organize in Mexico?

Exhortan a actuar contra bloqueo de camiones mexicanos en EU

La fracción priista en la Cámara de Diputados exhortó a las secretarías de Economía y Hacienda a fijar una postura respecto a la decisión del gobierno de EU para bloquear el ingreso de camiones mexicanos a ese país

México.- Luego de que el presidente estadunidense Barack Obama canceló el programa piloto de transporte transfronterizo, la bancada del Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) en San Lázaro exigió al titular de Economía, Gerardo Ruiz Mateos, aplicar medidas urgentes en este tema.
El coordinador del Grupo de Trabajo en Materia Migratoria del PRI en la Cámara de Diputados, Edmundo Ramírez Martínez, lamentó la decisión de Obama, que consideró es contraria al fallo de la Organización Mundial de Comercio que ordenó el ingreso de camiones mexicanos a esa nación.

“Nuestro gobierno tiene todo el derecho y la obligación de interponer un recurso ante los páneles de comercio mundial por la violación al Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte (TLCAN), donde Estados Unidos se comprometió al ingreso de camiones transfronterizo”, comentó.

En entrevista en San Lázaro lamentó que hasta ahora ni la Secretaría de Economía, ni la de Hacienda hayan manifestado una postura al respecto, cuando miles de transportistas y comerciantes mexicanos se verán afectados por esta medida.

Ramírez Martínez consideró que esta situación puede provocar tensión en la relación de ambos país, ya que demuestra que el gobierno de Obama recurrirá a prácticas proteccionistas para beneficiar a sindicatos como el de los transportistas estadunidenses, aunque se viole el TLCAN.

“Hasta el momento sólo la embajada de México en Washington ha deplorado esta situación, pero ninguna instancia de la Secretaría de Economía ha tomado cartas en el asunto”, subrayó el también secretario de la Comisión de Población, Fronteras y Asuntos Migratorios.

Recordó que como parte del TLCAN, Estados Unidos debió haber permitido el ingreso gradual de camiones mexicanos de carga desde 1995, pero el entonces presidente William Clinton incumplió el acuerdo bajo presión de los Teamsters, el Sindicato de Transportistas.

Sin embargo, la administración de George W. Bush aplicó el programa piloto a pesar de las presiones de los demócratas en el Congreso.

“Ahora se da marcha atrás y el gobierno mexicano debe actuar ya y no seguir esperando más tiempo, porque puede ser el inicio de más prácticas proteccionistas al comercio mexicano”, agregó.

SOURCE:El Manana

U.S. plans to map out new Mexican truck project

Safe, modern Mexican rigs await dispatch at a terminal in Nuevo Laredo.

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration will try to reinvent a program to allow Mexican trucks full access to U.S. highways.

An 18-month pilot program that allowed a few Mexican trucks beyond a border buffer zone died when President Barack Obama signed a $410 billion spending bill yesterday. The bill barred spending on the program.

Debbie Mesloh, a spokeswoman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, said Obama has told the office to work with Congress, the Transportation and State departments and Mexican officials to come up with legislation to create “a new trucking project that will meet the legitimate concerns” of Congress and U.S. commitments under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The United States prohibits most Mexican trucks from driving past a narrow zone beyond the southern border, ranging from 20 miles in most cases to 75 miles in Arizona. Canadian trucks have no limits on where they can go.

In San Diego County, many drivers from Mexico transfer their loads to U.S. operators for delivery to the U.S. interior. Some Mexican fleet owners have operations in both countries. The United States agreed to lift that ban after signing NAFTA with Canada and Mexico.

The limits were imposed after lawmakers voiced safety concerns. Mexico has long called it an unfair effort to protect U.S. jobs.

Instead of full access, a pilot program was created that allowed up to 500 Mexican trucks from 100 operators to make long hauls into the United States. It also allowed U.S. agencies to conduct inspections and other safety activities. San Diego-based Qualcomm was awarded a federal contract to install a satellite-based tracking system in participating trucks to monitor their compliance with U.S. regulations.

Officials said only 103 Mexican trucks belonging to 26 carriers participated in the program. Ten U.S. carriers with 61 trucks plied Mexico’s roads.

With constant legal and congressional challenges to the pilot program, the Bush administration had said uncertainty over its future resulted in low participation and made assessing the program difficult.

Some participating companies, including at least one from San Diego, have said they hadn’t seen much benefit from the program. Still, California was second to Texas in the number of border crossings made by Mexican trucks.

Meanwhile, California’s air-quality regulators warned from the outset that the opening of the state’s freeways and ports of entry to older, diesel-fueled Mexican trucks could dramatically increase toxic pollutants.

Under pressure from labor, safety and other groups, Congress cut off spending on the program in 2007. But last year, the Bush administration used a loophole to keep it operating.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., sponsor of the provision in the spending bill that ended the program, wrote Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood this month to say he doesn’t oppose Mexican long-haul trucks on U.S. roads, but wants them to be safe.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, cheered the end of the truck program.

“I am pleased that Congress has reclaimed its ability to have some bearing on the obligations contained in the surface transportation provisions of NAFTA and has voted for this step forward for highway safety,” Oberstar said.

The Mexican government has protested the trucks ban and prohibits U.S. trucks from driving far into Mexico. It could take additional retaliatory steps, such as raising tariffs on U.S. goods. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has warned of just such a backlash from Mexico.

The Obama administration’s announcement yesterday to revisit the truck program did not comfort Mexican officials.

“Mexico still believes that the United States’ noncompliance on this issue, more than 14 years overdue, is a violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement,” said embassy spokesman Ricardo Alday.

Alday said opposition to the program has never been about safety.

“During the cross-border trucking demonstration program’s 18 months of operation, 26 carriers from Mexico – with 103 trucks – and 10 from the U.S. – with 61 trucks – crossed the border over 45,000 times without a significant incident,” Alday told the Los Angeles Times.

He said Mexico is willing to continue to work with the United States “in finding a solution that honors its international obligation.”

By Suzanne Gamboa
We keep those lying sacks of shit, Todd Spencer of OOIDA and Jimmy Hoffa of the Teamsters out of the process and we might find a solution. Keeping in mind that this only delays the program once more, and only until September of 2009

Mexican Cross Border Program likely to end, for now!

Think the xenophobes stopped Mexican trucks? Think again. Many carriers such as Transportes Olympics, operating in the US as Fernando Paez Transport, will continue US operations legally even after the program is closed.

Further signs of the deterioration of America’s society and values were evident Tuesday night with the passage of the pork laden FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill that funds the government through September 09.

Based on lies and misrepresentations by insignificant little men such as Teamsters President James Hoffa and OOIDA’s Todd Spencer, Section 136 pulling funding for the successful Mexican Cross Border Demonstration Program remained intact. The final vote was 62 to 35 with 2 abstaining.

A Congressionally mandated Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General Final Report released last Tuesday, appears to expose the lies of these organizations who have opposed this program. The program revealed in the 18 months the program has been in operation, there have been ZERO accidents, and ZERO major safety violations. With one exception, all participants operated in complete compliance with our rules and regs. In other words, there was no logical reason, other than the xenophobic, protectionist obsession of one mean little man, to put a stop to this successful program.

Transportation Department spokesman Bill Adams said the administration recognized congressional concerns about the program and would work “to propose legislation creating a new trucking project that will meet the legitimate concerns of Congress and our NAFTA commitments.”

The may try but until James Hoffa meets the same fate as his late father, we’ll never see anything come of it. The best thing that could be done is for Obama to repeal Reagan’s 1982 moratorium on foreign trucks.

But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned in a letter to lawmakers that ending the program “would likely prompt costly retaliation” from Mexico.

Ricardo Alday, a spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in the U.S., assailed the congressional action Tuesday as “protectionism, plain and simple.”

“Mexico would expect that at a time of global recession and economic distress, the U.S. would play by the rules, fulfill its international treaty obligations and ensure that bilateral trade is a level playing field, rather than erect trade barriers that undermine much needed incentives to foster growth,” he said, predicting the action would increase consumer costs.

He said the decision has never been about safety. “During the cross-border trucking demonstration program’s 18 months of operation, 26 carriers from Mexico, with 103 trucks, and 10 from the U.S., with 61 trucks, crossed the border over 45,000 times without a significant incident.”

Sean Spicer, assistant U.S. trade representative in the Bush administration, also predicted that the congressional action would have consequences.

“If we’re not going to fulfill our obligations, I think the Mexican government will look for opportunities to take back some of their obligations under the treaty. At the end of the day, this could easily affect jobs.”

Teamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell continued his bosses pattern of lies saying: “Look, we’ve lost the trade war with Mexico. We sent 1 million jobs to Mexico. There’s nothing that Mexico could do to us that is worse than what they’ve already done.”

We didn’t send 1 million jobs to Mexico. Many went to the southern states where the atmosphere is business friendly. with tax abatements for business, right to work laws, a willing and trained labor force and an intolerance for union bullshit.

More jobs went to China and were outsourced to India and Pakistan. Will the lies from Hoffa’s thugs never cease.

Tranportes Olympic/Fernando Paez Transport US truck showing a closeup of the dual registration that will allow this pioneer company of the Mexican Cross Border Program to continue US operations using the same drivers and equipment as was used under the Cross Border Program

When do Mexican trucks disappear from our highways?

The short answer, they don’t! Cross border drayage rigs will continue to travel within the commercial zones, generally 25 miles from the border, 75 miles in Arizona. This means these trucks can conceivably travel US highways from Brownsville to Del Rio Texas as they have done for years.

Trucks originating in Mexico with a Canadian consignee will continue to be permitted to cross the US to their Canadian destination without interruption and without the extremely thorough PASA required of the program participants.

Many of the participants in the Cross Border Program have established US domiciled subsidiaries and thus, their operations will not be interrupted. The only difference will be they will not be inspected every time they cross the border.

Any Mexican carrier can apply for and generally receive special authority to service a specific destination in the US. Canceling the Cross Border Program will not change that in the least.

Remember the 350+ Mexican carriers “grandfathered and certified” under the 1982 Moratorium? They’ll continue to operate without restriction as they have been for the past 25 years. They will continue to provide statistics that prove without a doubt that Mexican carriers have a better safety record than US carriers.

Ironically, had this program been allowed to continue, leading to the eventual opening of the border (which will happen anyway) the G&C carriers would have been required to undergo the same strict and thorough PASA as the program trucks did in order to continue operations. All trucks applying for US authority would have been required to pass the PASA.

So when Obama signs this pork filled atrocity, the only celebrations will be in the offices of Jimmy Hoffa who will be celebrating his victory brought on by his manic obsession against Mexican trucks, a victory he achieved by lies and deciet and utilizing the stupidity of his membership.

The same can be said for the likes of Todd Spencer and his paid mouthpieces such as little Stevie Sommers and his brain damaged daddy Dale Sommers,

They have nothing to celebrate.

On the other hand. The two years we have been advocating our position on this program, we have relied on research, documented with photos and links to the information supporting our position. We have been correct in our assessments, assumptions, presumptions, predictions and analysis and we’ve done it very simply. WITH THE TRUTH. There’s no shame in that.

Our next issue we will tackle is opposition to Jimmy Hoffa’s pet project CARD CHECK otherwise known as the Employee Free Choice Act. This is the unions idea of a wet dream whereas the bedrock of American democracy, the secret ballot, is thrown out and union thugs can coerce, intimidate and threaten employees in agreeing to join a union.

But for now, I have comments to write in a dozen Mexican newspapers urging the citizens of Mexico to demand their government to go forward with the tariff’s and other retaliatory measures against the US for this egregious breach of our legal and moral obligations under NAFTA.

I believe I will be as successful doing that as I have been with this site.

Senate Vote on FY09 Omnibus Spending Bill delayed at least a week!

Breaking news from The Washington Times

Senate Democrats beat back a series of Republican proposed changes to a $410 billion omnibus spending bill Thursday, but they couldn’t muster enough votes to block more amendments as final consideration was postponed until next week.

As such, a new stopgap measure needed to keep government going. The current one expires tomorrow.

The House is expected to pass another temporary spending measure Friday, followed by Senate approval, to keep the government running until Tuesday.

The House passed the omnibus last week but would have to revisit the legislation if changed by the Senate. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said she would instead take up a continuing resolution to fund the government at 2008 levels until the end of the year.

This is indeed good news as it gives us more time to work the Senators to get the Section 136 removed from the final bill.

This is especially important now that the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General Final Report is out.

Not surprisingly, the opposition is ignoring this report, and the report probably accounts for the perceived urgency in getting this idiotic Section 136 passed.

You see folks, the DOT/OIG report showed the opposition, specifically, Jimmy Hoffa of the Teamsters, and Todd Spencer of OOIDA to have engaged in what I have been claiming on this site for the past two years.

They LIED TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC! Every word out of their mouths have been LIES, DISTORTIONS, and LIES by OMISSION!

The report shows there are no “dangerous Mexican trucks with no oversight” as Hoffa continually claims. Indeed, the program participants showed a better OOS rate for both driver and vehicle than American carriers.

Yet Hoffa continues to LIE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE even as the evidence contradicts his words.

“Shutting down the border is the right thing to do. There’s no guarantee that trucks or drivers from Mexico are safe. Until there is, dangerous Mexican trucks should not be allowed to drive freely on our highways.” – Jimmy Hoffa

This reports is full of guarantees and proof positive the trucks and drivers are safe. But in Hoffa’s demented little mind, that will never be the case.

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior and these carriers have proven themselves completely.

For the first time, the “Grandfathered and Certified” Mexican carriers from the 1982 Moratorium was mentioned and statistic disclosed. They to came in with better numbers than US carriers but not quite as low as the program participants. These “G&C” carriers, 350+ strong, have been operating side by side with US carriers, with no special restrictions for almost thirty years. They have not cost Americans any jobs nor denied us frieght. Hoffa and Spencer pointedly ignore these facts as they don’t fit their agenda.

The report showed us that FMCSA indeed thoroughly vetted all participants which caused many of the initial applicants to withdraw or turn away from the PASA process. In addition to the safety vetting, participants were also criminally vetted which resulted in the denial of 138 applications for various reasons.

The report also pointed out that participants were inspected each and every time they crossed the border, as promised by FMCSA, in their statement “Every truck every time”. This was not a legal or regulatory requirement as FMCSA and the OIG pointed out, but something that was done to reassure interested parties.

The opposition took this to mean a LEVEL I CVSA inspection of every truck, every time,which was never the intent. The opposition knew this but chose to confuse the facts and put their own spin on it.

The OIG report found also that Mexican drug testing facilities were in compliance and that Mexico SCT had made definite progress in updating it’s databases. This is another lie that Hoffa and Spencer continually told which had no basis in truth.

So we have a few more days to work with and to convince enough Senators and possibly Congressmen to get the damn amendment pulled and let this legal and valid program conclude, so we will have solid data as Congress has asked for.

Possibility of Retaliation by Mexico

Some are pooh poohing the idea of Mexico retaliating with tariff’s which they have every right to do.

On POLITICO Anne Schroeder is reporting:

This is a problem, as evidenced this week by the Mexican ambassador to the U.S.

According to an eyewitness source, Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan was seen at a luncheon at the Four Seasons showing a group of people — including congressional staffers — a list with the trade sanctions that Mexico is preparing to impose on the U.S in retaliation for closing the cross-border trucking program.

Just what these trade sanctions are remains unclear.

The Mexican Embassy would not comment on the luncheon. However, spokesman Ricardo Alday admitted that Mexico is entertaining these actions and said: “As we have said in the past, we’re keeping all options open in the event the program is suspended or closed.”

Senator Robert Byrd found out the hard way that Mexico can play hard ball.

n 2002, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled that the Byrd Amendment (formally known as the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000) violates U.S. trade obligations, clearing the way for retaliatory sanctions by eight WTO member countries. The WTO later authorized eight countries to retaliate based on the amount of Byrd Amendment distributions by the U.S.

Mexico imposed a 30% duty on dairy products, including baby formula; a 20% duty on wine; and, 9% duty on candy and chewing gum. Mexico’s action followed that of Japan, the European Union and the Canada in imposing duties on the U.S. that year because of the Byrd Amendment. Total retaliatory tariffs from these countries amounted to nearly $114 million.

Mexico’s imposition of retaliatory tariffs added fuel to the fire. Mexico was the fourth WTO member, after the European Union, Canada and Japan, to impose retaliatory tariffs because of the failure to repeal the Byrd Amendment. In addition to hurting U.S. exporters, American manufacturers and retailers were seriously harmed from the Byrd Amendment – they were required to pay the duties and then see these payments transferred to their U.S. competitors because of Byrd. How could a rational system of trade laws have allowed a few American companies to be subsidized at the expense of others?”

The U.S. Dairy Export Council said Mexico’s 30% tariffs on dairy products caused great harm to exporters of $160.4 million in business the U.S. conducted with Mexico in 2004. In the first five months in 2005, U.S. dairy exports to Mexico were valued at $103.2 million.

So do we want another trade war in this recession? Do we want to throw aside our legal and moral obligations to assuage the ego of insignificant little men like Hoffa, Spencer and Dorgan?

We think not.

Violating NAFTA is a dangerous move

If Congress doesn’t like certain provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it can ask President Barack Obama to renegotiate its terms. In fact on the campaign trail, candidate Obama pledged to do just that.

What Congress and the White House shouldn’t do is unilaterally abrogate a trade agreement. Violating treaty obligations cheapens the diplomatic stature of the United States, making it harder to negotiate such agreements. And it encourages retaliation that harms U.S. economic interests.

In this case, Congress is reneging on a 15-year-old obligation to open the border to long-haul trucking. The southern border, that is.

Canadian truckers can make deliveries far into the United States, in accordance with NAFTA. But opponents have stonewalled efforts to allow Mexican trucks to venture beyond a commercial zone that extends only 25 miles from the border.

Some of the concerns expressed by opponents were valid, especially with regard to safety. But the Bush administration addressed those concerns with a pilot program that put U.S. inspectors in Mexico, held Mexican trucks to the same safety standards as U.S. trucks and required Mexican drivers to obtain insurance from U.S.-licensed firms.

The pilot program has long been a target of free trade opponents. A measure inserted in the $410 billion omnibus spending bill, which Obama is expected to sign, will kill the pilot program — and a key U.S. treaty obligation.

The legislation is bad for San Antonio and South Texas, which would benefit greatly from the warehousing and distribution associated with enhanced cross-border trade. It is bad for American businesses and consumers, who wait longer and pay more for the transportation of goods that must be inefficiently off-loaded and reloaded at the border.

Perhaps most important at a time of economic uncertainty, it is dangerous for the United States and its trading partners. If the world’s economic leader is seen as retreating from free trade, it could set off a disastrous round of protectionist measures precisely when a boost in international trade is desperately needed.

The right thing for the United States to do is to live up to its commitments. Short of that, a legitimate procedure exists to change those commitments. Congressional leaders and President Obama should follow it.