Obama's Omnibus Bill Hurts Mexico Truck Program and Commitment Under NAFTA

Beyond appropriations, the bill’s 1,132 pages carry with them legislative provisions touching on an array of issues. State attorneys general are given new powers to pursue truth-in-lending cases. The bill terminates an 18-month pilot program to allow Mexican-licensed trucks to compete for long-haul routes in the United States. And down to the last hours, a set of Cuba travel provisions required the Treasury Department to step in to ease differences among Democrats that threatened passage. 

The Mexico truck program began in September 2007 as a way for the United States to meet its commitment under NAFTA to allow freer trucking operations on both sides of the border. But it has faced persistent opposition in Congress, and a recent Transportation Department report found that only 29 of 100 projected Mexican carriers were admitted to the project, and this “level of participation is not adequate to yield statistically valid findings.”

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“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.”

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.