Safe, compliant Mexican trucks will soon be allowed access to the US under a Cross Border Trucking proposal signed today in Mexico City
It’s official folks! U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes Dionisio Arturo Pèrez-Jàcome Friscione joined today in Mexico City to sign agreements resolving the dispute over long-haul, cross-border trucking services between the United States and Mexico.
This agreement paves the way for Mexico to begin to lift 50% of the $2.4 billion in retaliatory tariffs that have been in place for more than two years, a result of the Obama Administration caving to pressure from the TEAMSTERS and OOIDA and defunding the previous highly successful Cross Border Demonstration Project.
Pursuant to an agreement signed by the United States Trade Representative and the Secretaría de Economía of the United Mexican States, lifting of the retaliatory tariffs will provide opportunities to increase U.S. exports to Mexico and expand job creation in the U.S.
The agreement provides that Mexico will suspend 50 percent of the retaliatory tariffs within ten days. Mexico will suspend the remainder of the tariffs within five days of the first Mexican trucking company receiving its U.S. operating authority. As a result, Mexican tariffs that now range from five to 25 percent on an array of U.S. agricultural and industrial products such as apples, certain pork products, and personal care products would be immediately cut in half and will disappear entirely within a few months
These perfectly legal tariffs have cost Americans and estimated 25,000 jobs and more than 15% of market share in the agri business community, much of which has gone to Canada.
Secretary LaHood said: “The agreements signed today are a win for roadway safety and they are a win for trade. By opening the door to long-haul trucking between the United States and Mexico, America’s third largest trading partner, we will create jobs and opportunity for our people and support economic development in both nations. I thank President Calderon and Secretary Perez-Jacome for their leadership and for their partnership as we build a safer, more prosperous future for North America and the world.”
As a result of these meetings, and in consultation with Mexico, trucks will be required to comply with all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and must have electronic monitoring systems to track hours-of-service compliance. In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation will review the complete driving record of each driver and require all drug testing samples to be analyzed in Department of Health and Human Services-certified laboratories located in the U.S. The Department will also require drivers to undergo an assessment of their ability to understand the English language and U.S. traffic signs. The new agreement also ensures that Mexico will provide reciprocal authority for U.S. carriers to engage in cross-border long-haul operations into that country.
The notice in the Federal Register has been published as required by law and can be obtained here
U.S. truckers shocked by agreement with Mexico
Predictably, OOIDA was out of the gate with a purely sophomoric pre-prepared press release.
In it, OOIDA President Jim Johnston declares:
“If the agreement is good for the U.S. why the hell is he (Secretary LaHood) sneaking down there to sign it?” So much for their supposed transparency. Why not let the public see the details before signing the agreement? Seems like the Administration is dead set on caving to Mexico’s shakedown regardless of the costs to the American public and our tax coffers.”
Apparently early senility has set in upon Mr. Johnston since details of the program have been made available to the public for months and a mandatory 30 day comment period was established for interested parties to voice their concerns. We doubt Mr. LaHood “snuck” down to Mexico, rather he simply didn’t call and ask OOIDA’s permission before he went, as if he needed it.
OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer went on to repeat his totally baseless and debunked claims about Mexico and it’s truckers:
“This program will jeopardize the livelihoods of tens of thousands of U.S.-based small-business truckers and professional truck drivers and undermine the standard of living for the rest of the driver community.”
Yeah? Right Spencer. 100 trucks and drivers are going to jeopardize the livelihoods of tens of thousands of US truckers (OOIDA members) and for the rest of us, undermine our standard of living?
Spencer has also insinuated that OOIDA and their allies have lawsuit waiting to be filed against the cross border program, a lawsuit that basically has no merit. Attempts are also being made to stop this with provisions slipped into the current highways authorization bill currently being debated in committees on capital hill. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much interest by legislators in pursuing that tactic.
HOFFA CONDEMNS MEXICAN TRUCK PILOT PROGRAM
As expected, James P. Hoffa opened his pie hole regurgitating the same lame bullshit that he’s been passing around as “truth” for almost a decade.
Hoffa said the program is probably illegal because it grants permanent operating authority to Mexican trucks after 18 months in the so-called “pilot program” outlined in the proposed rule published in the Federal Register. Congress has not granted DOT the legal authority to do so, Hoffa said. Further, DOT would use money from the Highway Trust Fund to pay for electronic on-board recorders for Mexican trucks. Hoffa questioned whether DOT can do that legally. Hoffa has apparently not read the FMCSA’s Federal Registry Notice that addressed and totally debunked his ludicrous condemnation.
“Opening the border to dangerous trucks at a time of high unemployment and rampant drug violence is a shameful abandonment of the DOT’s duty to protect American citizens from harm and to spend American tax dollars responsibly,” Hoffa said.
“This so-called pilot program is a concession to multinational corporations that send jobs to Mexico. It erodes our national security. It endangers motorists. It ignores the rampant corruption among Mexican law enforcement. It lowers wages and robs jobs from hard-working American truck drivers and warehouse workers.
“It adds insult to injury to force U.S. taxpayers to pay for monitoring equipment on Mexican trucks so Mexican carriers can take away their jobs,” Hoffa said. “The DOT shows more loyalty to the Mexican people than it does to Americans.”
“This pilot program doesn’t even meet NAFTA’s requirement that the Mexican government grant comparable authority to U.S. trucks. No trucking company or driver in their right mind would travel in Mexico under the State Department’s current travel warning,” Hoffa said.
Since 2007, violence has worsened as drug cartels compete for trade routes to the U.S. More than 40,000 people have been killed, and kidnapping and torture are rampant.
Further, a Homeland Security incident report from Oct. 15, 2010 indicates that drug traffickers have hijacked and cloned legitimate trucks to transport illicit cargo across the border. According to the document, criminals hijacked over 10,000 commercial trucks in 2010 in Mexico. No legitimate confirmation of this can be obtained.
Hoffa said DOT cannot guarantee the safety of Mexican trucks.
“Mexican trucks simply don’t meet the same standards as U.S. trucks,” he said. “Medical and physical standards for Mexican trucking firms are lower than for U.S. companies. And how can Mexico enforce highway safety laws when it can’t even control drug cartels?
Again numbnuts, read the register notice!
DeFazio Fights Cross-Border Trucking “Pilot” Program under orders from Hoffa and other “contributors”
Today, corrupt Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, and longtime being in the pockets of special interests such as the TEAMSTERS, wrote Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood challenging the administration’s cross-border trucking “pilot” program that opens the U.S.-Mexico border to the free flow of truck traffic.
He also submitted legislation to limit the administration’s authority to implement the program. This agreement will have a significant impact on the safety of American drivers, security on the border, and American jobs. (Where have we heard those false accusations before?)
“As I have said many times, three issues must be addressed in the cross-border trucking program: safety, security and job loss,” said DeFazio. “I have sent several letters to DOT asking them to address these issues. My calls for caution have gone unanswered. My legislation puts the brakes on a bad deal for American truck drivers and the traveling public.”
DeFazio’s bill will limit the use of scarce Highway Trust Fund dollars to pay for the Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBR) for Mexican trucks.
“As we debate deep and harsh cuts to programs that help middle class families, it is outrageous that taxpayers are being told to foot the bill for the Mexican trucking industry to comply with American safety standards. My bill would stop the Department of Transportation from raiding the Highway Trust Fund to pay for equipment on Mexican trucks. Let the Mexican government or the Mexican carriers pay for their equipment and let’s use U.S. gas tax revenue for its intended purpose of putting Americans to work rebuilding our roads and bridges,” said DeFazio. (Like Hoffa, DeFazio doesn’t have a clue)
In March, DeFazio sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood requesting additional details regarding the proposed pilot program theU.S.negotiated with Mexican officials.
The pilot allows Mexican trucks to operate on U.S.highways beyond the current border commercial zone and it allows Mexican carriers to obtain permanent operating authority from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) after 18 months in the pilot program. That permanent authority could not be rescinded were Congress or the Administration to terminate the Mexican truck pilot program.
DeFazio continues to questions the legal authority of DOT to implement a permanent program.
DeFazio continues to be an idiot and a pawn of James P. Hoffa and other opponents of this program.
Mexican trucks lined up for inspection into the United States
Anybody have the chance to listen to Landlinenow on Friday when senior editor Terry Scrotum got his panties in a bunch over the upcoming renewal of the Mexican truck program? It was good for a chuckle or two, especially Terry’s feigned indignation.
At issue was a recent comment by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood regarding the Mexican truck program.
Secretary LaHood stated:
“We’re working with the trucking industry on their ability to continue to be competitive. They weren’t particularly enamored of some of the proposals that were being floated around with respect to the Mexican truck – the cross border, uh, but we met with them and we worked those out.”
And Scrotums sarcastic reply:
Excuse me? You worked what out, exactly? And with whom? Which trucking industry did you work with, Secretary LaHood? It certainly wasn’t the same one that I work with. The trucking industry that I work with still doesn’t like the new proposed Mexican trucking program any better than the old program.
Strange but the trucking industry I’ve spent the past 37 years being a part of, is largely ambivalent about the Mexicans coming here. If they follow the rules, pay the penalty if they don’t, as we do, most truckers I’ve spoken with don’t have a problem.
Scrotum goes on to complain and push the same worn out theory that has been debunked time and again:
You want to know why? Let’s start with jobs. If this program goes through, American truckers will lose jobs. Period. Oh, but American truckers would be able to go down to Mexico and haul loads from there as well. Have you looked at the news from Mexico lately? Drug cartel violence. Kidnappings. It’s not a place I would want to be hauling valuable cargo into.
I would challenge Terry Scrotum and the rest of the fear mongers at OOIDA present irrefutable facts to support their contention that American truckers will lose jobs. PERIOD!!! There is none and the statistics available show that this is nothing but another fear tactic to get unknowing truckers on board with their agenda.
Yes, Terry, I have looked at Mexico lately. I was in Monterrey a couple of days ago. No trucks being targeted. The violence is between the cartels. It has nothing to do with the proposed admittance of Mexican trucks or our ability to continue operating into Mexico.
And while we’re on the subject of safety, let’s just talk about how safe those trucks coming up from Mexico will be. Mexico does not have the same safety infrastructure in place as we do here in the U.S. They just don’t. Oh, but we’re going to solve that by putting Electronic On-Board Recorders into each and every truck crossing the border, right? I see. And who’s going to pay for those EOBRs? Mexico? Guess again. We can’t even pay for our own transportation needs and now we have to foot the bill for Mexico too?
Let’s do talk about how the trucks coming up from Mexico are and will be. The 18 month pilot program showed them to be in compliance with our rules and regulations and showed they had a better safety and compliance history than our very own trucks. Your right. Mexico does not have the same safety infrastructure as we do and for good reason. The infrastructure they have in place to regulate their trucking industry seems to work for them. They don’t seem to be having major truck involved crashes everyday of the week as we seem to.
I haven’t even scratched the surface of the problems with this program. Let’s not forget the fact that after 18 months in the program trucking companies from Mexico will get their permanent authority, which means they get to keep operating here even if the program is shut down. And did I mention the Mexican carriers involved in the first pilot program that was shut down will get credit for the time they operated in the U.S.?
That’s the idea. Full compliance with out obligations under NAFTA and full operating authority after they prove their fitness, AGAIN! Nothing new and nothing that more than 850 Mexican trucking concerns don’t already have. No Terry, scratching the surface isn’t quite right. What you really mean is you just haven’t come up with more worthless excuses why we should continue to ignore our international obligations.
Meanwhile, down on the pig farm;
Since letters are flying back and forth around this issue, The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) sent Congress a letter urging their support for the renewal of the Mexican truck program.
NPPC has pointed out that Mexican trucks were proven as safe as American trucks in a 2007 pilot program, which Congress defunded in 2009.
The organization also pointed out that should this agreement not be ratified, it is likely that Mexico would increase the current tariffs on U.S. goods. Since they were imposed on U.S. pork in August 2010, the tariffs have reduced U.S. pork exports to Mexico by 9% from August to December 2010, compared with the same period in 2009. In that same time, Canadian pork exports to Mexico have grown by 99%.
Mexico, the second-largest market for U.S. pork in 2010, purchased $986 million of U.S. pork in 2010.
And finally, further proof that people don’t have a clue about Mexican trucks or our obligations under NAFTA, in this LETTER TO OHIO REP. BOB GIBBS.
From Congress.org (BOLD highlights illustrate the absurdity clueless nature of the writer)
Subject:
MEXICAN TRUCKS ON U.S. HIGHWAYS
To:
Rep. Bob Gibbs
March 27, 2011
Congressman Gibbs:
Obama wants to admit Mexican trucks to our U.S. highways and roads at a time when our unemployment rate grows.
And if we are to believe Todd Spencer, executive V. Pres. of the Owner-Operated Independent Drivers Association, “U.S. truckers would be forced to forfeit their own economic opportunities while companies and drivers from Mexico, free from equivalent regulatory burdens, take over their traffic lanes.”
Yes, Obama says Mexican truckers will be scrutinized for their abilities to meet U.S. trucker’s standards in safety issues, emissions. and will undergo border inspections at the “normal border inspection rate” –which means that only a few violators will get caught. They must acquire English proficiency etc. You and I know this is pure double-speak.
It’s my understanding that Mexcio claims that our ban on Mexican trucks violates our NAFTA treaty obligations. But as Phyllis Schafly points out, NAFTA isn’t a treaty. A treaty requires a 2/3 vote in the Senate and NAFTA was passed by a simple majority vote. She further points out that, with the drug war in full battle-mode at our border, this is no time to start admitting Mexican trucks. But if Obama and Calderon have their way, many Mexican trucks will be hauling illegal aliens and illegal drugs into our country.
If China ignores NAFTA regulations, why must we be made to adhere to them? We need some legislators in our Congress with cajones; someone who will fight for us instead of Mexico.
[pullquote]If China ignores NAFTA regulations, why must we be made to adhere to them?[/pullquote]
Congressman Gibbs, the people of this nation have been made to sacrifice their jobs to developing nations. What kind of monsters do we have in Washington who would hand the remaining jobs to people here illegally and then allow Mexican trucks into our country to destroy the U.S. trucking industry? The families of those U.S. truckers will suffer because there are no jobs in this country. Will Obama never cease in his effort
to destroy our middle class and force our destitute poor farther into poverty? And why would our Congressmen ever approve of this?
Yes we were the wealthiest nation; that distinction earned by the sweat of our brows. And we helped developing nations raise themselves up but they, unlike our forebears who fought and died to draw up a Constittuion that benefits everyone and anyone willing to earn a living by the sweat of his/her brow, don’t seem to have the gumption to fight for their rights.
We are the greatest nation in the world because we the people made it so; not because some other country came along and gave us a free ride.
We have always shared our wealth. Why is our government now treating us like lepers; bad people who don’t deserve good-paying jobs and who should work as slaves to the wealthy elite within a socialist government?
Please don’t allow Mexican trucks on our highways. And don’t forget that NAFTA is NOT a treaty. We owe Mexico nothing regarding giving Mexican trucks free access to our highways. Sure our truckers will be given free access to Mexico’s highways, but who would want to risk life and limb to do so? They don’t want to drive into Mexico and I don’t blame them.
Don’t let Obama have his way and watch him like a hawk because he will try to have his way by maneuvering behind closed doors. Too bad we have to put up with this mistake until 2012. Blessings.
Fredericktown , OH
Isn’t that a hoot? Never knew China had anything to do with NAFTA.
But, the lunacy and idiocy continues on as we start another week. One can only wonder what the wackadoodles will come up with this week.
The Mexican government apparently is damned serious about trying to force the U.S. government to present it’s intentions in regards to the cross border trucking controversy.
Sources close MTO have indicated that Mexico is considering rotating its list of U.S. products subject to retaliatory tariffs by early 2011 if the Obama administration fails to present a proposal for resolution of the cross border trucking provisions that would provide Mexican carriers quid pro quo access to US markets.
The Mexican government will use all legal means to force the U.S. to comply with the trucking provisions of NAFTA, which the US agreed to in 1994, and those legal means will include a new rotation of the tariff’s list during the first quarter of 2011, the source said.
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood recently announced a proposal was ready and would be presented to Congress after the Nov. 2 elections.
Mexico has not yet received any word from the Obama administration indicating when or whether DOT will introduce its plan after the election, one source said.
Responding to a question by Senate Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Chairman Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who asked for an update on the Mexico truck program, LaHood said "We are finalizing a plan. The reason it is taking so long is there's a lot of moving parts.
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said this morning that the DOT was close to coming up with a proposal to allow Mexican trucks access to the United States, under the rules of NAFTA.
LaHood was testifying at a hearing about the 2011 DOT budget before the Senate Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.
Responding to a question by subcommittee Chairman Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who asked for an update on the Mexico truck program, LaHood said “We are finalizing a plan. The reason it is taking so long is there’s a lot of moving parts.”
On March 1, 56 lawmakers sent a letter to Kirk and LaHood urging the Obama administration to resolve the nearly year-long dispute that started when Congress killed the program in the 2009 appropriations bill.
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