The Bush administration yesterday warned Congress against ending a program that allows Mexican trucks to operate on U.S. highways.
The Mexican government is likely to retaliate with economic sanctions if Congress eliminates the trucking program, which is authorized by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), said Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters.
“Whatever their reason, this is no time to let the politics of pessimism dim the promise of prosperity for hundreds of thousands of American drivers, growers and manufacturers,” Mrs. Peters said.
She estimated that U.S. companies could lose $2 billion in trade each year if Mexico retaliates with new tariffs and fees.
The warning preceded a Senate hearing scheduled for today to review a Transportation Department pilot program that allows some motor carriers from Mexico and the U.S. to ship freight across the border.
Before the NAFTA treaty, Mexican truckers were forced to transfer their loads to U.S. trains or trucks for delivery in the United States. U.S. truckers were forbidden to cross the Mexican border.
U.S. truckers complain that the cross-border program, which started Sept. 4, allows lower-paid Mexicans to take their jobs.
The Teamsters union, which represents truckers, says Mexican trucks fail to meet U.S. standards on safety and emissions.
“The data does not back up what they’re saying at all,” Mrs. Peters said.
John Hill, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said inspections of trucks at the border screen out the kinds of safety problems mentioned by the Teamsters.
“We are checking 100 percent of the vehicles in Mexico,” Mr. Hill said.
Congress did not renew the cross-border program in its fiscal 2008 budget, but the Transportation Department says it is continuing to operate the program under its current budget.
The Teamsters have opposed the trucking program with a lawsuit that is pending in federal court in San Francisco.
The union argued that the Transportation Department acted outside its authority by continuing the program. The union and its supporters also said Mexico has not upgraded its truck-inspection facilities or enforced safety regulations to meet U.S. standards.
Mrs. Peters said the Transportation Department will comply with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling but would consider an appeal to the Supreme Court if it loses.
U.S. trucking groups renewed their criticism of the cross-border program after yesterday’s press conference.
“Safety standards in Mexico simply are not on par with those in the United States, and few U.S. trucking companies even appear interested in going south,” said Todd Spencer, vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, a Grain Valley, Mo., trade group.
U.S. businesses that support the program are motivated by cheaper labor from Mexican truckers, he said.
Some business leaders disagreed, saying the loss of U.S. trucking jobs is a small price to pay for the economic benefits.
About $332 billion in products were transported in both directions across the U.S.-Mexico border in 2006, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. More than 80 percent of that cargo moved by truck.
The Transportation Department said international goods shipped before the cross-border program sometimes changed shippers three times before being delivered, which resulted in delays and higher costs. The cross-border program allows a single truck to make a delivery from origin to destination.
Because of the economic efficiency, “We think there’s job creation,” said John Engler, chief executive officer of the National Association of Manufacturers.
The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates that 41,000 American jobs could be lost if the cross-border trucking program is ended.
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