Mexico slaps additional tariffs on 90 US products in retaliation!

Mar 162009

16/03/2009 Posted by PMC at 14:23 on 16/03/2009

You asked for it, you got it!

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico says it will increase tariffs on about 90 U.S. products in retaliation for last week’s decision to cancel a pilot program that allowed some Mexican trucks to transport goods within the United States.

The Mexican Economy Department says the U.S. decision violates a provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement that was supposed to have opened cross-border trucking years ago.

Department officials told a news conference Monday that the measure will affect about $2.4 billion in trade: 90 agricultural and industrial products from 40 U.S. states.

It did not name the products or specify the amount by which import tariffs will increase.

Activists in the United States had argued that Mexican trucks were unsafe, something Mexico denies.

White House wants new US-Mexico trucking program

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says it wants to work with lawmakers to restore a program that allows a cross-border trucking program with Mexico.

Mexico on Monday put in place tariffs on 90 U.S. products after Washington canceled a program that allowed some trucks from Mexico to operate in the U.S.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says the administration wants to work with Congress to come up with a plan that would restore that program.

Lawmakers had safety concerns and other reservations and did away with the program in last week’s spending bill.

Gibbs says the White House is working with Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota to write a bill that would deal with lawmakers’ concerns.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the successful Pilot Program that the Omnibus Appropriations Bill stopped other than the egomaniacal bastard James Hoffa and his butt buddy Todd Spencer didn’t want it. Simple solution is to pass a quick bill rescinding Section 136 and turning a blind ear to all special interests!

The Big Picture

First, The Small Picture. Some 98 trucks out of a half million. Teamster Union vs. those in dire need. Micron impact on NAFTA. And a myriad alike in the micron cumulative impacts.

The Big Picture – Macro Cumulative Impacts. Restricting trade will cause many US companies to go abroad – no jobs in the US. The World is a lot bigger than the US. Without trade – export US will die. Without trade – in equilibrium, import – the US will die. Without new viable disruptive technologies, implemented in the US – - electric power, water management, and alike sustainable within the most major industries, the US will die. And a myriad others, comprising the cumulative impacts.

Then, the outcome. In the absence of World Markets and Trade, whether is fostered by a large or a very small multi national companies, that are relying on Global presence, US will find it self in a collapse status. These large and very small multi national companies will indubitably and inevitably position them selves not only in a survival mode, but in sustainable structure, thus could fully impact the US survival and prosperity, particularly in jobs creation, not only Worldwide but in the US; equally and equitably.

The Danger Zone. No longer can US rely on just “Made in USA”. It is a Global Economy.

Underestimating the strategy of these, whether a large or a very small multi national companies, which will be the back bone of the economy in the US, as well as in the World, will be a grave mistake.

No longer, many of the US companies can only rely on the US economy. Absent of such globalization, whether is implemented in Mexico, one of its closest neighbor, or elsewhere, could trigger a massive business curtailment, directly affecting US.

Narrow Minded Folks. Wake up, before is too late. Educate your selves, sufficient enough to at least see the basics of the Global Economy. It is affecting you, like it or not. Aggravating even the super micron multi national company that aims to deliver power-water-food, via latest viable disruptive technology, will continue the trend of outsourcing and when considering the cumulative impacts, you will end up with no job at all. So, all Unions, Teamsters and all seeking preferential treatment folks, balk all you can at the door which will not exist.
no thanks to Mexico

"US is a country of many uninformed, uneducated, protectionism borne, racist, with a myriad of other negatives folks."

And Mexico … is not?

HA!!

Pardon me, but even the most backward Mississippi plantation fieldhand has a better education than the "top tier" Mexican peasant and I can't remember the last time I crossed paths with a true American racist. On the other hand, I run into lots of Mexican racists in the California valleys. Mexicans are more racist as a group than anyone else in North America and the poorer they are the worse they are. As for negative, we haven't moved troops into the border areas yet to slow the drug wars like you've been forced to.

Opening up American roads to Mexican trucks is about one thing and one thing only … wages. The average American trucker makes less than $40000/year and Mexicans will drive for a lot less.

Retaliatory tariffs on California almonds? You realize those almonds are worked with Mexicans? Your peasant relatives have been traveling to Fresno and Merced to work in the trees since the Okies moved out of the groves years ago. Retaliatory tariffs and restricting the California almond trade is only hurting your kin folk.

If Obama backs away from his "no Mexican trucks" campaign promise, I'll be sadly disappointed but not entirely surprised. Politicians as a whole are a sad bunch of liars and Obama may not offer the change he advertised. Bush and Clinton dumped this NAFTA thing on working Americans years ago and, despite the flowery words to the contrary, Obama may only be planning on finishing us off with it.

Moving mass numbers of US manufacturing jobs into Mexico to follow cheap labor is one thing but moving Mexicans into the USA to force wages down is different. Mexican truckers may wiggle around the politicians and into the USA, but you won't find a warm welcome waiting from the rest of us.

I don't suppose you'll let this comment see the light of day. Oh well, at least "you" know where one of us stands and I suspect this won't be the first comment you've deleted. Propaganda organs like yours don't often let opposing opinions loose in their worlds.

By the way, I was never a big fan of the Teamsters or OOIDA but it's becoming clear that the enemy of my enemy is my friend and I'm starting to think I should finally get friendly with both Jimmy and the boys in Grain Valley. Americans are like that. We go our own way until faced with a common enemy and we finally close ranks to come together as a united whole. We're slow to anger but don't mistake that slowness for an unwillingness to anger.
http://mexicotrucker.com PMC

I don’t suppose you’ll let this comment see the light of day. Oh well, at least “you” know where one of us stands and I suspect this won’t be the first comment you’ve deleted. Propaganda organs like yours don’t often let opposing opinions loose in their worlds

I'll gladly let this comment see the light of day and stand! I only delete stupid racist drivel from small minds that haven't a clue what they're talking about. You want find any propaganda here though. Everything here is based on fact. It may not be facts as you and others want to hear, but we try to not let our opinions override the facts as so many have in this debate.

Point by point:

Pardon me, but even the most backward Mississippi plantation fieldhand has a better education than the “top tier” Mexican peasant and I can’t remember the last time I crossed paths with a true American racist. On the other hand, I run into lots of Mexican racists in the California valleys. Mexicans are more racist as a group than anyone else in North America and the poorer they are the worse they are. As for negative, we haven’t moved troops into the border areas yet to slow the drug wars like you’ve been forced to.

I don't know what you consider a "top tier peasant" in your mind. If you are referring to the farm workers, many are uneducated, especially those who come from the southern states of Mexico. Education is a requirement through 6th grade here. After that, many have to drop out to help support the family. If you are referring to Mexican society as a whole, then you have no idea how wrong you are!

There are varying degrees of racism and you probably haven't crossed paths with a "true American racist" such as the Neo-Nazi and White Power groups. But those who single out a certain race of people, group of people or people of a certain nationality, and try to blame all of societies problems on that one group, and then try to disguise it as "Patriotism", are indeed racist. We saw it in the 50's and 60's when I was growing up with the Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights movement. As far as Mexicans being racist, some are, the same as American's. But I think what you see as racism, aside from some who want to make asses of themselves, is the reaction of people who have been humiliated, treated like sub humans in some cases and generally treated and regarded as blacks were from the mid 1800's through the 80's. And it's a bad analogy, but you take an old cur dog and kick him, abuse him enough, one day he's not going to slink away, but bite you on the ass.

The Mexican military on the border is no concern of ours, not as the media would have you believe. President Calderon has taken the offensive to try and do something that is destroying Mexico. Not as a failed state as some would imply. We had the same problem in the Prohibition era in Chicago fighting Capone and others. We had the problems with La Cosa Nostra in New York and elsewhere, and of course, the Cocaine wars in Southern Florida during the 70's. The situation in Mexico is no different than that. Although if the market wasn't here in the US for the cartels product, and US citizens were not making it easy for the Cartels to acquire weapons that should not be available to anyone outside of law enforcement and the military, the problem would not be as critical.

Opening up American roads to Mexican trucks is about one thing and one thing only … wages. The average American trucker makes less than $40000/year and Mexicans will drive for a lot less.

This one has been beat to death and it doesn't really deserve a reply. It doesn't matter how much a Mexican will drive for because the Mexican truck issue is not about putting Mexican drivers in American trucks. There is nothing preventing that from happening now nor has there ever been. No different from American companies importing drivers from Australia, New Zealand and the former Eastern Bloc countries. The Mexican truck issue is about facilitating freight movement and keeping our word that we gave when we signed NAFTA.

Retaliatory tariffs on California almonds? You realize those almonds are worked with Mexicans? Your peasant relatives have been traveling to Fresno and Merced to work in the trees since the Okies moved out of the groves years ago. Retaliatory tariffs and restricting the California almond trade is only hurting your kin folk.

Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't have any "peasant relatives". All of my relatives are college educated and successful, including one Uncle who is a retired PHD from the University of Texas medical system in Houston. Nor do I have any "Mexican kinfolk". California almonds are machine picked these days, in this century. It will have no effect on the migrant workers.

If Obama backs away from his “no Mexican trucks” campaign promise, I’ll be sadly disappointed but not entirely surprised. Politicians as a whole are a sad bunch of liars and Obama may not offer the change he advertised. Bush and Clinton dumped this NAFTA thing on working Americans years ago and, despite the flowery words to the contrary, Obama may only be planning on finishing us off with it.

WE Must Repeal NAFTA ? No, it has been one of the more successful trade agreements we've made. Overlook the propaganda of the self serving isolationists, the protectionists and the nativists, who oppose NAFTA simply because Mexico is involved. Obama never made a campaign promise of "No Mexican Trucks"! He suggested tinkering with NAFTA which would open up a whole new can of worms and would not be in our best interests.

Mass numbers of jobs were not moved into Mexico as you imply. Many companies in the northern part of the US moved their operations to southern states that were more business friendly and where unions did not have iron fisted control of the workforce. Other jobs were lost to advancing technology. When industrial robots can do the work of 5 for a fraction of the cost, who loses? And these displaced workers, instead of going back and getting technical training and education to program these machines, decided to sit back on their asses and whine about NAFTA and the Mexicans. Jobs that did go to Mexico were replaced with a higher quality of job. It's all a wash

You mention a warm welcome for the Mexican trucker in the US? After more than two years of discussing this issue with drivers I meet on the road, talk to over the CB, most could care less. The most common response I get is "If they play by our rules, I don't have a problem". They have played by our rules. For many years.

Mexico is not the enemy, although many loons would have you believe that. And in my opinion, aligning yourself with the Teamsters and OOIDA would not be an exercise in intelligence. Whether you realize it or not, or want to realize it, their entire opposition to this issue has not been based on one fact, but rather a plethora of lies and half truths and feeding upon the apathy of the American people. In other words, using irrational fear as a tool to lead the dummies.

Do you want to put yourself in that group? I would think not!

Mexico Trucker Online

Mexico slaps additional tariffs on 90 US products in retaliation!