Editorial: It’s time to drop obstacle to trade
Barring a court injunction by a friendly judge — which is always a distinct possibility — U.S. roads on Thursday are scheduled to open up to freight trucks originating in Mexico.
It’s about time.
Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, which went into effect in 1994, cross-border trucking was to begin on Jan. 1, 1995 — nearly 13 years ago. President Clinton, who, to his credit, finalized NAFTA, acquiesced to labor pressures and installed a 45-day moratorium on the implementation of the trucking provisions. That short moratorium has been extended since by courts and Congress.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court denied the latest request by the Teamsters union, the Sierra Club and Public Citizen that the ban on cross-border trucking would continue. The Teamsters and other unions have successfully preached that Mexican trucks are inferior and will endanger American drivers who share the road with them. Mexican firms buy the same trucks, made in the same factories, that U.S. firms do, and should not be inferior.
George W. Bush, who was Texas governor when the blockage was imposed, condemned the move, declaring that officials at our international bridges and the state highway patrol were ready for the Mexican trucks and could handle the job. His counterparts in Arizona and California also said trucks from the south wouldn’t create an undue burden.
The issue is largely moot directly on the border, as free-trade zones were created to allow trucks from each country to cross over in order to transfer cargo to domestic haulers.
Trucks from Mexico are a fairly common site in the Rio Grande Valley, and this area has not seen any unusual number of traffic mishaps involving large trucks, despite the narrow roadways and almost constant construction on our highways.
Teamsters officials are trying to alarm the public with predictions of waves of overweight, undermaintained Mexican trucks flooding our highways. That simply isn’t the case, and we’re sure that union officials are well aware of that.
Opening our roadways won’t create significant increases in highway traffic, since cargo already is brought in and relayed to domestic truckers.
We aren’t likely to see a significant increase in the number of semi-trailers on the road; the only difference will be that more of the trucks will carry Mexican license plates. Many of those trucks still will belong to U.S. companies, since large haulers often register their trucks in every state — and now country — in which they operate, in order to avoid potential problems along their routes.
Eliminating the transfers from Mexican to U.S. trucks, however, will reduce the handling the cargo must endure. That should result in less damage, especially to produce, and could lead to better quality and certainly lower prices in U.S. grocery aisles.
No unsafe vehicle, regardless of nationality, belongs on our nation’s roads. If inspectors at the borders and state troopers are doing their jobs, they will help ensure that all trucks, just like all other vehicles, are safe, properly registered and insured.
The benefits are a two-way street. When we drop our barrier to Mexican trucks, U.S. carriers will also gain access to Mexican roadways, which opens doors to new markets for U.S. goods. That means more opportunities for U.S. truckers — including the Teamsters.
In an effort to allay public fears, U.S. and Mexican officials began a program in February of this year that would ensure that trucks meet all safety and environmental requirements.
Some 100 Mexican trucking companies wishing to bring cargo through the United States have been registered, and U.S. inspectors have been in Monterrey for the past six months, inspecting Mexican trucks and qualifying their drivers.
There seem to be no more good reasons to continue violating NAFTA. It’s time to drop the barricades and make our freeways truly free.
