Cross-border Trucking Services: Bush Administration Changes Policy Based on NAFTA Arbitral Ruling

 
The Bush administration announced that it would allow Mexican truckers to enter the US on the same day that a NAFTA arbitral panel ruled in favor of the Mexican government. Mexico had complained that NAFTA provisions have provided for access by its trucks to the US market as of 1995; however, the Clinton administration refused to allow them in on the grounds that the trucks were not safe and that Mexico had failed to implement a national registry to follow the maintenance and safety record of its national fleet. The US had offered technical assistance to the Mexican government to set up such a system but consistently found conditions in Mexico to be unfavorable.

The NAFTA panel found the US actions to be inconsistent with commitments subscribed to under the agreement. It recommended that the US "take appropriate steps to bring its practices with respect to cross-border trucking services and investment into compliance with its obligations under the applicable provisions of NAFTA." It found that "compliance by the United States with its NAFTA obligations would not necessarily require providing favorable consideration to all or to any specific number of applications from Mexican-owned trucking firms." The panel directed that "inspection and licensing requirements (a) be made in good faith with respect to a legitimate safety concern and (b) implement differing requirements that fully conform with all relevant NAFTA provisions."

The US had complained that Mexican labor laws had "no safety regulation directly applicable to the time a driver may spend behind the wheel." Another US complaint was that US and Canadian safety regulations require drivers to keep logbooks, whereas Mexico has no comparable practice. A New York Times article stated recently that "consumer groups, noting that 41 percent of Mexican trucks failed American inspections at the border, argue that the trucks will endanger Americans."
In addition to safety concerns, the Clinton administration was guided in its refusal to allow Mexican truckers into the US by the political support it received from the Teamsters Union. The decision by the Bush administration is sure to generate union protests. According to the New York Times, "Union officials voice fears that Mexican truckers, who often earn one-fourth as much as unionized American truckers, will take American jobs." Press reports indicate that truckers are organizing a protest in Texas on February 16, the day that Presidents Bush and Fox are scheduled to meet in Mexico.

On the other hand, the American Trucking Association (ATA) released a statement saying it "strongly supports" the finding of the dispute resolution panel. "Implementing NAFTA's trucking provisions would give us the opportunity to reduce congestion and delays at ports of entry along our border with Mexico," the statement read. "ATA continues to encourage the United States and Mexico to agree on comprehensive safety standards, establish and test effective enforcement programs, and staff border facilities with full-time inspectors as they move forward in implementing NAFTA's trucking provisions."

The Department of Transportation is the US government department charged with rule making in this area. The DOT will write the safety standards and the procedures for certification (Motor Carrier Certification) for the entry of Mexican trucks into the US. Of course, there has been plenty of time since 1995 to work on these issues. US Customs is the implementing agency. It may receive some help in the form of legislation introduced into the US Congress to provide $7.6 million in funding for speeding up the processing of trucks crossing the US-Mexico border.

Neither the panel ruling nor the administration decision to allow Mexican trucks into the US market means that US highways will be swamped with Mexican trucks anytime soon. Under NAFTA provisions and in the panel ruling quoted above, the US has the right to set its own safety standards which must be met by Mexican truckers. In theory, they will not receive permission to enter the US until they are in compliance. In addition, apart from not yet knowing how broad the Bush administration intends the border opening to be, the logistics of inspecting and approving the entry of Mexican trucks have yet to be worked out. Five million trucks crossed the US-Mexico border last year.

www.ustr.gov New York Times US Department of State www.truckline.com