Democrats in Congress seem poised, perhaps with the blessing of the Obama administration, to take trade policy down a dead-end road by effectively barring Mexican trucks from U.S. highways.
The Senate is debating a spending bill that would kill a project that encourages cross-border trucking, as required by the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The issue of Mexican trucks is the bad penny of U.S. trade policy. It doesn’t go away. This has been a crusade of congressional Democrats since the passage of NAFTA more than 15 years ago. And now that Democrats control both houses of Congress and the Oval Office, they have the muscle to get the Mexican trucks off the road.
Never mind that this relentless campaign, which united the Teamsters Union, anti-globalization forces and nativists worried about vanishing borders, violates NAFTA, which opened highways in Canada, Mexico and the United States to truckers from all three countries. Never mind that the whole deplorable debate tarnishes the United States’ reputation as a reliable global trading partner at precisely the moment when our markets need to be as open as possible. Never mind that, in trying to bar Mexican trucks, opponents wound up hurting U.S. truckers, who got soft and lost their competitive edge because unions protect them from foreign workers.
If the foes of Mexican truckers triumph, as appears likely, we would return to how it was before 2007, when the Bush administration launched a pilot program to open U.S. highways to Mexican trucks. Back then, Mexican truckers on long-haul jobs had to unload their cargo within 20 miles of the border and re-load it onto U.S. trucks to complete the journey. That was a sweet deal for U.S. truckers, and it’s part of the corrupt system that has the Teamsters using its political juice to reinstate. Under no circumstances should Congress and the Obama administration act as accomplices.
SOURCE:San Diego Union Trib Editorial
Congress may force President Barack Obama into a showdown with Mexico over free trade.
Lawmakers are preparing to cut off the money for a 1 1/2-year-old pilot program that opened the way for up to 500 Mexican trucks from 100 operators to drive deeper into the United States.
The U.S. has allowed only a few Mexican trucks to drive beyond a southern border buffer zone, although it agreed when it signed the North American Free Trade Agreement to allow Mexican trucks full access to U.S. roadways beginning in 1995.
If the U.S. doesn’t comply with the NAFTA agreement, Mexico can take retaliatory action such as placing or raising tariffs on U.S. goods.
“If the program is finally defunded by Congress, Mexico will (keep) open all its options, including retaliation,” said Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S.
White House spokesman Benjamin LaBolt declined in an e-mail to comment about the truck program. Tren Nguyen, a spokeswoman for the U.S. trade representative’s office, said the office is examining all possible options, but she would not say what those options are.
For now, Congress isn’t one of the options.
The Senate is considering a $410 billion House-passed spending bill that halts funding for the Mexican truck program. Two years ago, the Senate voted 74-24 to cut off the program’s funding. Voting with the majority at the time were Obama and Joe Biden, now the vice president.
Senate Republicans don’t even plan trying to keep the program alive now that a Democrat is in the White House.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who tried to keep the money flowing in 2007, is not inclined to do so again, an aide said this week.
“It’s very disappointing that my colleagues have chosen protectionism over job creation by eliminating the NAFTA trucking pilot program with Mexico,” Cornyn said.
Money for the program could be slipped into other spending bills, but would again face heavy opposition.
Obama discussed NAFTA with Mexican President Felipe Calderon when the two met about a week after Obama took office, and Obama said he would work immediately to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
Since 1982, most Mexican trucks have been confined to driving no further than 20 miles into the U.S., except in Arizona, where the limit is 75 miles.
The Teamsters, consumer groups and independent insurers have been pressuring Congress to keep the trucks off U.S. roadways, citing safety concerns.
But some of the strongest opposition has come from unions also concerned about U.S. drivers losing jobs and work to lower-paid Mexican drivers.
The Bush administration began the pilot program after a Mexican truck company sued under NAFTA and won. Congress cut funding for the pilot last year. The Bush administration continued it with funding from other parts of the transportation budget.
Bill Adams, a spokesman for the Transportation Department, declined to comment on whether the agency would do the same again.
Inside U.S. Trade, an online publication, quoted Doug DeBruyne, a spokesman for the Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, as saying Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood ordered a review of the Mexican trucks program on Feb. 9. As a House member, LaHood also voted to end the program.
The Mexican ambassador said keeping Mexican trucks from U.S. roads will raise the cost of goods for producers and consumers.
“This is protectionism. It has nothing to do with the safety or security of American roads,” Sarukan said.
According to The Trucker, The U.S. Department of Transportation will make no attempt to stop Sen. Byron Dorgan’s effort to kill the Cross Border Demonstration Project.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has indicated he will not stand in the way of Dorgan’s efforts. Asked whether LaHood was in favor of letting the project die, a DOT spokesman declined comment. (What a pussy)
How the elimination of the project will impact the North American Free Trade Agreement is uncertain. Officials at the Commerce Department, which oversees NAFTA, declined comment.
Let me clue you in! From talks I have had with participants on both sides of the border, you ain’t seen nothing yet!
Pull funding, you pull funding for the new inspection facilities and additional commercial vehicle inspectors which will impact safety and cost American jobs.
If Mexico decided to throw up tariff’s, which they have the legal right to do (and which we fully support) watch the cost of your goods rise!
And watch for potential legal actions and injunctions once this is signed into law!
They talk about the “arrogance” of the former administration, in fulfilling our obligations under NAFTA, what about the arrogance of that little piss ant Dorgan who appears to have Hoffa’s verga lodged firmly in his throat!
And that is my final word until the lawsuits begin!
The final report issued by the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General on the Mexican Cross Border Program was made public on Tuesday, and there were no surprises in the report.
Once again, the Inspector General has validated all that has been reported on this site. Furthermore, the report totally debunks the inaccurate and erroneous statements made over the past two years by Jimmy Hoffa and the people at OOIDA.
The report can be downloaded here for your review.
It is suggested that one reads it throughly to get the full impact of the IG’s findings.
Here are some highlights of the report.
Let’s start out with the IG’s report on Trinity Industries. Ya’ll remember Trinity Industries and their Mexican subsidiary Trinity de Mexico SA de CV? They’re the ones that Todd Spencer and OOIDA and Jimmy Hoffa of the Teamsters tried to convince everyone was so unsafe. Well,
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s (OOIDA) claim
that Trinity had received over 112 violations per truck during the year prior
to the demonstration project was substantiated; but OOIDA’s claim did not
indicate that Trinity’s out-of-service violations numbered only 74, or an
average of 7.4 out-of-service violations per motorized vehicle over the
1-year period. Trinity’s out-of-service rates were lower than similar rates
for United States carriers during this same period. We found no evidence
that Trinity or other demonstration project participants had poor safety histories before
being admitted into the project based on FMCSA’s data on
the operations of these carriers in the United States.
There is more, but read it for yourself. In a nutshell, OOIDA reported 112 violations per vehicle but did not tell us the rest of the story. This happened before the 9th Circuit also.
Jimmy Hoffa and the folks at OOIDA continue to make the claim of “Dangerous Mexican Trucks”. Indeed, with them “Dangerous” is synonymous with Mexican trucks, but again, not true.
For once, the IG’s report included the Mexican carriers “grandfathered and certified” (G&C) under the 1982 moratorium banning foreign trucks from operating in the US.
The results are conclusive and inescapable. Mexican trucks as a whole have a better safety record than US carriers.
Other Findings:
- FMCSA’s automated Licensing and Insurance and Mexican Monitoring systems are working well to identify infractions of motor carrier safety
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- FMCSA implemented site-specific plans with CBP, honored its commitment to check every truck every time, and maintained inspection equipment and capacity to conduct meaningful truck inspections of the demonstration project trucks.
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- Pre-authorization safety audits were comprehensive and adhered to applicable regulations and statutory requirements
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- FMCSA initiated a quality control plan in March 2008 to provide assurance that all Mexican trucks and drivers were checked each time they crossed into the United States
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- FMCSA checked the English language skills of Mexican drivers in the demonstration project in accordance with protocols.
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- Far more Mexican carriers were operating legally beyond the border commercial zones than were in the demonstration project, including carriers operating within specific states or anywhere in the United States under pre-NAFTA provisions, and within border commercial zones. Vehicle out-of-service rates for these carriers were higher than the rate for demonstration project carriers. Only the project participants were subject to the pre-authorization safety audit.
The following findings are very important because they totally debunk recurring statements by both OOIDA and Teamsters.
- The Mexican drug and alcohol test collection system was at least equivalent to U.S. requirements in most respects.
- Mexico was making progress in improving inspection and accident databases rules and regulations and initiate enforcement actions.
Opponents of the program have tried to convince the public that this is not the case. So who knows more? The IG or those with a protectionist agenda.
The downside was mostly of a technical nature. Again, with the IG suggesting there was not enough participants to yield statistically valid results. However, this opinion was made on FMCSA initial claim of participation of 775 companies. If numbers are adjusted for actual participants, then the problem goes away. Without regard to that, the fact remains that the participants have had ZERO accidents and ZERO serious safety violations. To most people, that would be a sign of success.
The IG acknowledged the thoroughness of the vetting process which drove away companies that had originally shown a desire to participate.
The remainder of the problems noted consisted of reporting between FMCSA and the cooperation of CBP officials at the border. All minor suggestions that FMCSA concurred with.
This will be prime evidence when Congress pulls funding for this program, without justification, and the lawsuits begin. I forsee that happening soon after the bill is signed and I also predict an injunction being issued to keep the program in force.
There is no logical or common sense reason to stop the program unless it is to open the border immediately, which is our obligation under NAFTA. There is nothing in this report to suggest that Mexican carriers or unable to operate in full compliance with USDOT rules and regulations and do so in a safe manner.
This report also proves that the oppositions, the protectionists who are scared of a little competition, will do anything, including lying to the American people, to push their agenda.
I’l ask the same question I asked about Mark Reddig of OOIDA last week! How stupid does he think people are?
This headline coming from PRNEWSWIRE, which is a pay for print news service. In other words, it doesn’t have to be the truth, but if you pay them to promote it, they will.
Hoffa Praises Proposal to Ban Unsafe Mexican Trucks
Omnibus Budget Would Stop Cross-Border Trucking Pilot Program
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa applauded the House Democratic leadership for including a ban on unsafe Mexican trucks in the omnibus appropriations bill unveiled today.
Though Congress shut down the Bush administration’s pilot program to open the border in the 2008 appropriations, the Bush administration ignored the ban, which expired at the end of the fiscal year.
“Shutting down the border is the right thing to do,” Hoffa said. “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.”
Despite the bipartisan opposition to opening the border to the cross-border trucking pilot program, the U.S. Department of Transportation said last year it will extend the program for another two years.
Section 136 of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill’s Transportation Title states, “None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this Act may be used, directly or indirectly, to establish, implement, continue, promote, or in any way permit 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.”
Same shit, different year! The trucks and drivers have proven themselves to be safe and qualified. Only Jimmy Hoffa and his gang of thugs have proven to be delusional.
So, the program gets shut down! Then what? Mexican trucks will disappear from US highways? Not in a million years!
The Mexican participants in the program have positioned themselves to continue to legally operate in the US, but without the strict oversight they have now. And the American carriers in Mexico?
They’ll be kicked out! More potential American job losses, thanks to Jimmy Hoffa!
We’ll see what we shall see! Really stupid to start a protectionist trade war while we’re in a recession!
Outbound road rigs belonging to TUM of Nuevo Laredo in outbound inspection lanes at the Nuevo Laredo Terminal. Mexican carriers have strict policies that must be conformed to before a rig hits the road.
Most of us have heard Mark H. Reddig who hosts the OOIDA Landlinenow hour on XM radio, and know him as one who at times, has problems with reality and truth backed by facts, and this is one of those times.
Reddig writes on the Landlinenow blog. In Mexico, our rejects can come back to haunt us
Give me a fucking break! OOIDA and the Teamsters crap has been exposed for what it is and disproved numerous times here and elsewhere.
Here is an expert line by line analysis of Reddig’s ridiculous claims.
We’re all troubled enough about trucks based in Mexico coming over the U.S. border and operating here.
It is a proven fact that only a small minority know anythng about nor could care less about Mexican trucks coming into this country. The past 15 months of the Cross Border Program has proven beyond any doubt that these companies and employees are as qualified and safe to operate here as any of our guys.
A trucker called in recently to tell us that once again, he was seeing a group of trucks – badly maintained, long past their prime and far less than road worthy – being readied for shipment to Mexico to be used in freight hauling there.
We’re certain a “trucker” did call whining about something he knows absolutely nothing about. These trucks bought in the US, some from salvage yards and others from used truck dealers are going to Mexico. The salvage trucks are stripped for usable parts and resold. Components are rebuilt in some cases. What remains is sold for scrap at a profit. It’s a good and profitable business in Mexico.
Trucks bought at auction or from used dealers are put to work as cross border shuttle trucks which never travel more than 10 miles round trip from point to point. Some are sold as starter trucks for Mexican owner operators who in most cases, will never cross the border with them.
And the post goes on to say;
This is a story we’ve heard many times before, and it’s been confirmed as well.
Yes, we’ve heard this same line of crap for 17 years and that’s what it is, pure bullshit! All that has been confirmed is the protectionists with an agenda feel the need to post crap such as this because the facts don’t support their position.
And it’s one of the reasons why it’s a bad idea to simply allow trucks based in Mexico to run free on U.S. highways without requiring them to meet the same safety regulations all of you do.
I would agree with Reddig’s above statement if there was one iota of truth to what he says. Reddig and the rest know well that Mexican trucks, especially those allowed to operate beyond the Commercial Zones are held to a far stricter standard than US or their Canadian counterparts. This is well documented and the resulting safety statistic prove this. Mexican trucks are not allowed to “run free” in the US by any stretch of the imagination.
The trucks our industry rejects – the ones that are so hopeless that they’re not worth repairing to the point of roadworthiness – are shipped out of the country to nations where the safety regulations aren’t as strict.
Again, another misleading statement that we’ve become accustomed to from OOIDA. These are trucks that are past their usefulness in this country and sold or traded in. Some are wrecks bought from insurance adjusters. Mexico, being a full participant in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has basically the same safety standards as the US and Canada.
Look in the downloads section of this site. I believe we have posted Mexican SCT safety regs. If not, I’ll see about putting them up.
And Mexico is one of the main destinations.
If they’re headed south, that’s a no brainer.
If folks in Mexico are OK with those trucks on their roads, that’s their business. It’s their country.
Again, most will not be put on the roads, and those that are, are in the same category as most of our port haulers and rail head haulers in the US. Same type and age of rigs.
But this nation has a different set of rules, stricter rules, rules designed to keep everyone involved safe.
This is true. Some of them very anal and self serving with questionable results in keeping everyone safe. And looking at the statistics from the Cross Border Program to date, the Mexican trucks are doing a better job at compliance than we are. The proof is crystal clear.
As of November 6, 2008, US-domiciled vehicles and drivers had an out of service rate of 6.9% and 22.7% respectively. In comparison, Mexico-domiciled vehicles and drivers operating in the US had an out of service rate of 1.3% and 20.9% respectively
The article continues with it’s unsubstantiated claims.
Once a truck is declared unsafe for use on our highways, it shouldn’t be allowed to run just because it came across a border.
Again, Reddig make a big assumption of facts not in evidence. What evidence is there that these trucks are anything but what they are, used trucks. And it is well documented, thanks in a great part to the rules established for the Cross Border Program, should these trucks cross our border doing drayage work between the maguilladoras in Mexico and the forwarders in the US, they will pass across a OPEN Inspection station run by State Commercial Enforcement officials. Those are the rules and they are being followed. No way around these static facilities either. When the commercial border crossings are in operation, so are the Inspection facilities.
That statement doesn’t even deal with the lack of fairness in allowing foreign trucks privileges and considerations in this country that U.S. trucks would never receive. But that’s another conversation.
And with this final statement, Mark H. Reddig really tries to blow smoke up everyones ass making a statement he knows is incorrect.
Lack of fairness? US trucks have the same rights of entry into Mexico as Mexican trucks do into the US, should they choose to do so. American drayage trucks are allowed to deliver within the border commercial zone inside of Mexico the same as the Mexicans do in the US.
US companies who have participated in the Cross Border Demonstration Program, have made twice as many trips into the interior of Mexico as the Mexican participants have made into the US, and with half the trucks.
SOURCE:(1,287 trips into US for Mexican rigs, 2,311 American trips into Mexico)
And it might be noted, these companies have not experienced any of the dire and catastrophic consequences of operating in Mexico as Dale Sommers and the trolls at OOIDA have tried to make people believe.
Take another instance of the success of the Cross Border Program. A&R International, a dry bulk hauler out of Joliet Illinois, operating 14 trucks under the Cross Border Program made 1,225 border crossings and saved US$188,000 in transfer fees in 9 months. The total time saved by direct border crossings is estimated at 1,225 hours (a minimum decrease of one hour per crossing). This is direct savings and adds to the bottom line of an American company and saves American jobs, contrary to the claims of the protectionists such as Reddig and his allies.
AVOMEX INTERNATIONAL, one of the early participants in the demonstration program, and also one that Todd Spencer, Executive Vice President of OOIDA, slandered, early on with false statistics has this to say about their participation to date, not coincidently, safely and without accident or incident.
Of the 128 trips made per month by the company (AVOMEX), 75% are made under the DP, of which 30% return loaded with supplies. The US companies are saving about US$ 6,800 monthly in payments to operators and fuel cost due to a better use and operation of trucks under the DP
Since all of the propaganda that has been thrown around by OOIDA, Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters and others have been disproved conclusively here and in other venues, you would think these people would give up and concentrate their efforts on things that would help this industry. I guess fear mongering pays better dividends.
For those who desire further proof, visit our photo galleries. These are the real trucks operating in Mexico. And they are nothing akin to the fantasies of Mark Reddig and company.
One of President Obama’s campaign promises was to “upgrade” and “retool”[1] the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). An excellent way to start would be for him to make the Bush Administration’s pilot truck program with Mexico permanent.
Union Pressure
As The Wall Street Journal’s Mary Anastasia O’Grady reported, “Mexican trucking companies [had] a long history of operating in the U.S. and with no notably inferior safety record” until 1995, “when Bill Clinton issued an executive order–in violation of NAFTA, which he had signed into law–to stop Mexican long-haul trucks from crossing the border. Mr. Clinton was responding to pressure from Teamsters, who didn’t want any new competition. He cited safety concerns–things like substandard drivers and vehicles–which to this day have never been supported by evidence.”[2] Since then, trucks from Mexico have largely been confined to U.S. border areas.[3]
Notwithstanding fierce opposition by the Teamsters and other U.S. organized labor groups, in 2007 the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) approved a NAFTA-consistent “Cross Border Demonstration Project”[4] that gave “27 Mexican carriers with 107 trucks”[5] full access to the U.S. road network. Until then, USDOT regulations had required all Mexican trucks to unload their cargoes at warehouses close to the border where they were re-loaded into U.S. trucks for onward shipment throughout the country.
According to USDOT, the superfluous warehousing and loading/unloading added $400 million per year to the price of Mexican imports, which has been passed on to American consumers.[6] Under the USDOT pilot program, an equal number of American-owned trucks are also permitted to operate freely in Mexico,[7] thereby increasing the profits of both U.S. companies shipping products to Mexico and the American trucking companies hauling them there, as well as creating U.S. jobs.
The Bush Administration extended the program twice, resisting efforts of pro-Teamster Members of Congress who inserted language into the Fiscal Year 2008 omnibus spending bill that would have killed the pilot project.[8] Although protectionist critics have alleged safety problems with Mexican trucks, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration–the relevant oversight agency in the Department of Transportation–”recently issued a report showing there had been no accidents involving trucks participating in the program.”[9] The Mexican trucks are constantly monitored while in the U.S. and must meet rigorous USDOT safety requirements.[10] In fact, “Mexican trucks in the program have a better safety record than their American counterparts.”[11]
As Daniel Griswold of the Cato Institute has noted:
Although the Teamsters talk about safety, their real agenda is not to promote safer roads but to protect themselves from increased competition. The real agenda of their congressional allies is to thwart full implementation of a successful trade agreement with Mexico, our third-largest trading partner. The real objection they have to Mexican trucks making deliveries to U.S. cities is not that they are unsafe but that those trucks are driven by Mexicans. In the eyes of congressional leaders, “driving while Mexican” remains an unacceptable public hazard.[12]
Resist Protectionism
The U.S. and Mexican economies are deeply intertwined, and both are facing problems. Increasing efficiency in trade between the two countries will benefit both sides and strengthen the pro-market-based democratic approach of Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Improved safety of both the U.S. and Mexican long-haul truck fleet will also contribute to improved national security in both countries.
Congress, President Obama, and his new transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, should reject calls by protectionists to end the cross-border trucking program and, instead, take immediate steps to expand it and make it permanent.
-James M. Roberts is Research Fellow for Economic Freedom and Growth in the Center for International Trade and Economics (CITE) at The Heritage Foundation.
Mobile drug testing lab, operated by Secretariat de Communicacions y Transportes (SCT) is on call by Federal Police for on site drug and alcohol testing of commercial drivers at scene of accidents, for reasonable cause.
One of my favoritist trucking rags is The Trucker, published in my former hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. They have an outstanding editorial staff as well as reporters which are top notch in my opinion. But every once in a while, the step on their willywhackers.
Such is the case in the current issue of their newsmagazine. On page 24 (PERSPECTIVE) the headline that greets you;
Mexican Driver: his country lets unsafe, unfit drivers on the road
My name is Carlos Cordova. I have been driving for several years in both countries, Mexico and the US. But for the last two years I have been sick so I didn’t drive because the treatment includes drugs doctors prescribed that won’t allow you to drive any kind of vehicle.
But the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) that is responsible for the workers health did send me to drive no matter my condition.
I have been complaining to the Mexican authorities like the Mexican DOT and the Human Rights and even the Mexican President but nobody cares….because the Mexican government is lazy and corrupt.
So my question is, if my country can’t control it’s own drivers because most of them are drug addicts and the government is highly corrupted and can’t deal with a lot of social problems do you believe it’s ready to interact with the U.S. freight system?
In other words, are our trucks and drugged drivers ready to drive throug the 48 U.S.S [states]? I believe not in 100 years.
You can see the Mexican Commission on Human Rights doesn’t care what is happening with Mexican drivers health.
By the way, any kind of help, even information, is welcome
-Carlos Cordova
cecrascon@yahoo.com
Mr Finney, you’ve been PUNKED! This letter, this person, and his allegations. are fraudulent.
- The email address is non existent
- IMSS has absolutely nothing to do with Mexican commercial drivers. That is all under the Secretariat de Communicacions y Transportes (SCT)
- Had this person not driven in 2 years, his Licencia Federal would be expired and up for renewal, which would include medical exam and drug testing by government doctors in government labs.
- The Mexican DOT is not referred to as that by any Mexican driver. It does not exist.
- Mexican Human Rights Commission has nothing to do with commercial drivers nor is there any reason for them to be involved. SCT and Mexico’s Labor Ministry regulate Mexican truckers.
- English proficiency exhibited in the letter is higher than a normal Mexican drivers literacy level
With the debate over the cross border program getting ready to ramp up once again, this appears to be a poor attempt to throw more fuel on the fire of lies and misinformation that has been thrown around for the past year by Teamsters, OOIDA and others, and which has been totally exposed and debunked by this site and others.
Not withstanding the fact that the statistics from the program proves beyond any doubt that Mexican carriers are capable of operating at the same level of safety and efficiency as US and Canadian carriers. And if the truth be known, they participants in the program have exceeded even the expectations I had for the participants.
Shame on the editorial staff at The Trucker for letting this bad attempt at pushing the anti Mexican agenda slip past your editorial review.
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