In January 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed by Canada, the United States and Mexico. The agreement was intended to to encourage the free flow of goods between the three signatories to the agreement. One of the trouble spots was the provisions in the agreement that would allow the trucks of each country to travel freely upon the highways of each other's countries. NAFTA called for Mexican trucks to have unrestricted access to highways in border states - Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona by 1995 and full access to all U.S. highways by January 2000.
Thirteen and half years after the agreement was signed, these provisions have still not been fully implemented. Currently, cross-border trucking is limited to Mexican drayage companies that must operate within a 20 mile radius of the U.S. / Mexico border and must transfer freight to U.S. domiciled carriers.

Pilot Project Announced by the DOT

In February of 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a pilot project that would allow 1,000 trucks from 100 Mexican trucking companies the ability to deliver and pick up freight to and from customers in the U.S., provided they submit to on-site inspections in Mexico by U.S. safety officials. After the one-year test program, the DOT could then open the border to all Mexican trucks. As of April 26, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration spokeswoman Melissa DeLaney said the agency had completed audits of 31 carriers, 27 of which had passed.

Lawsuit Filed by Teamsters Union and Owner-Operators Association

On April 23, 2007 a federal lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco by a coalition including Public Citizen, the Teamsters union and the Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association, aimed at stopping the Bush Administration's plan to open the U.S. border to Mexican trucks. The lawsuit contends that the Department of Transportation's border pilot program violated established federal guidelines. They argued that the DOT was obligated to publish a detailed description of the pilot program and provide an opportunity for public comment.

The Three Major Issues - Safety, Economics and Politics

Safety

The opponents of the pilot program contend that concerns about verification of drivers' records, drug and alcohol testing, hours of service, cabotage, inspections and insurance are "just a few issues that have yet to be addressed by the Bush Administration." Public Citizen argued that the DOT tried to launch the pilot program without the proper safety and security oversight necessary for monitoring foreign trucks. In addition, they stated that the program should start on both sides of the border at the same time.
While some of the arguments presented are based on valid concerns, other are questionnable. David Melendez, a 12 years truck driving veteran stated "they (Mexican drivers) cannot read the signs and they don't even really know how to drive a rig out there. I've seen them with those trucks breaking down, they cut in front of you, they don't even use a signal." Another source stated that "all Mexican truckers are overworked, way underpaid, and rely on illicit drugs to stay awake in order to drive Herculean distances."
These views are not shared by all. The American Trucking Associations generally supports the crossborder program. The ATA has requested that the playing field should be level on both sides of the border before the program is launched.
"I think it's much to do about not very much," said Brigham McCown, a principal at the law firm Winstead PV and a former general counsel to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. "Even if you open the borders, the drayage trade is going to continue to constiutute a majority of the U.S. - Mexican trade for the next 10 to 20 years."

Economics

The economic arguements are simple. Since Mexican drivers earn lower wages than their American counterparts, opening the border to Mexican truckers should reduce the costs of crossborder shipping, thereby being of benefit to American shippers. On the flip side, the teamsters see a loss of jobs to Mexican drivers. Framing the debate over safety concerns may help delay the launch of the pilot and protect their members' jobs. Another argument that has been expressed is that if these safety concerns are legitimate, opening the border to Mexican drivers may increase insurance costs and as a byproduct, the cost of shipping.

Politics

Since the pilot project was initiated by a Bush Adminstration team appointee, this gives the Democratically controlled Congress an opportunity to embarass the Republican President. Congress took steps to block the Mexican truck program by including more restrictive language, including a provision that would guarantee U.S. carriers equal access to Mexican highways, in a bill passed to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, President Bush said he opposes those provisions, as well as other parts of the bill, and would veto the legislation.

The Saga Continues

As outlined above, this is an interesting brew of safety, economic and political issues. Stay tuned for the next phase of this interesting saga that has been playing out for the past thirteen years.