Trade war over Mexican trucks ? * USA - A Small and Dangerous Spat

USA -Mexico Trucker On Line -19 March 2009: -- President Obama has been warning that tit-for-tat protectionism could drive the world into an even worse economic slump than it is already in. He is right. Unfortunately, Congress doesn’t seem to be listening... An arbitration panel ruled in 2001 that the United States was in breach of its Nafta obligations on Mexican trucks. But thanks to the Teamsters union and its allies in Congress, all but a small number of Mexican carriers are restricted to operating within a 25-mile band from the border... The otruck drivers’ argument that Mexican trucks are unsafe is spurious — a flimsy cover for protectionism. Data from the Department of Transportation show that Mexican trucks and drivers operating in the United States — along the border and in the pilot program — have a better inspection record, with fewer violations, than their American counterparts... But President Obama can start by persuading Congress to revive the truck pilot program or start a new one. And he must make clear that — sometime soon — all properly inspected Mexican trucks must be able to work throughout the country, as Nafta requires. That would not only solve this trade spat, but it would provide the world with needed reassurance that the United States will stand by its trade agreements in these difficult times... (Photo by mexicotrucker: On the mexican road)


* Mexico strikes back for U.S. decision to end cross-border trucking pilot program

Washington,DC,USA -Logistics Management -17 March 2009: -- ... The Wall Street Journal reported that Mexico’s Economy Minister Geraldo Ruiz Mateos said the U.S. legislation spiking the program was “wrong, protectionist, and clearly violates” the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) treaty signed by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, adding that that ban protected U.S. workers and hindered Mexico’s ability to compete... The Obama Administration said yesterday that it would work to create a new cross-border, long-distance trucking program between the U.S. and Mexico...


* Trucks - the coming trade war?

Washington,DC,USA -BBC News (UK), by Justin Webb -17 March 2009: -- The truck dispute between Mexico and the US is a big deal in the making - perhaps the first battle of a global trade war? Or the shock to the system that convinces everyone there has to be a better way?... It does look as if the US is in the wrong - if you go by the rules - and President Obama is faced with a choice: persuade Congress to comply with the rules or give up on a key aspect of NAFTA, following through on a campaign threat that most people thought was hollow but which has some continuing political advantages... There is some political cost in the White House forcing Congress to reinstate the truck scheme - at a time when the Obama team want to reduce the spending of capital in order to keep some for future rainy days... Result: the trucks won't roll...