http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA060107.02C.freetrade0601.2aa2d46.html
“A controversial provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement that would allow Mexican trucks access to U.S. roadways may never happen, a South Texas congressman said Thursday in San Antonio.
“I don’t know if we’re ever going to have cross-border trucking,” Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, said at the Free Trade Alliance San Antonio’s annual free-trade luncheon….
Early this year, the Department of Transportation proposed a pilot that would allow a test of NAFTA’s cross-border trucking provisions, but a measure signed into law last week will keep that project from going forward as initially planned.
The measure, part of emergency war-funding legislation, would increase the regulations under which such a cross-border trucking pilot could be carried out. The measure “pulls the rug out from under the secretary of transportation’s plans,” Gonzalez said. ”
Thoughts?
Much safer.
alot better!!!
first let me say how much i appreciate you and your great insight. ok…i am so concerned about this particular issue, dar. i know most illegals here don’t have insurance or registration, etc…
and i’ve heard it said that in mexico, things are so much worse. they come here with bald tires, bad brakes, etc… and much much more. i know there are more drunk drivers in mexico as there is no real police force…well, not one that is reputable anyway.
our roads can’t handle all the traffic and road debris that would come in from mexico. can you imagine the nightmares that would ensue from this horrible agreement. but, my gov’t has sold us and our safety out on other things…this could just be like another final nail in our coffin.
I would feel much better and safer,It will be carnage on the highways if they let those junkpile trucks,driven by mexicans that can’t read our road signs,know nothing of the rules of our highways and possibly hauling all kinds of illegal freight be allowed here.
According to what I have read since NAFTA was passed back in the 90′s, the disagreement is with the individual states that do not want unsafe trucks on their hiways. They want the same safety requirements as any other truck driver has to follow. Now, in the early part of the Bush administration, the Department of Transportation tried to issue special permits to south of the border trucks, to make them exempt from Federal and state trucking regulations, all the way from truck driving licensing to truck inspections and tags. How ever, that was done away with because of 9-11, and so there has been a lot of restrictions on trucking from Mexico.
I don’t know why everyone would feel safer. The terrorists came in through Canada not Mexico. And in addition Mexico’s products are much fresher than the American products. I would feel bad if the Mexican trucks weren’t allowed in.
I hope they don’t. Aside from the losses our American truckers would take, in Mexico transportation requirements are much more lax. My husband is in the transportation business(rail), and I can’t tell you how many problems have arisen from merely doing business with Mexico. Stolen goods, bullet holes, illegals, visa arguments. Mexico may say they will keep in in check, but they seem to have a problem keeping most of their country in check. I would say their carelessness could be a major security threat.
Thank God, someone had enough sense to block that NAFTA provision. Mexican trucks crossing over the border would eventually lead to more deaths on the American highways. Additionally, it probably would have lead to the outsourcing of our transportation industry. I am for many parts of NAFTA, but never the cross-border trucking issue. I’m not even going to mention the potential terrorist threats that this trucking agreement would bring.
I don’t know enough to have an opinion on this issue.