DeFazio asks Obama not to cave in to 'illegal' Mexican tariffs
Rep. Peter DeFazio says the tariffs imposed by Mexico are illegal. (Associated Press)
The Trucker News Services
3/26/2009
WASHINGTON — Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., has sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to take action against tariffs imposed by Mexico after Congress passed and Obama signed a bill that killed the Cross Border Demonstration Project.
DeFazio called the tariffs illegal.
“These tariffs are illegal and should be treated as nothing more than political gamesmanship. Mexico has no legal grounds to implement any of these tariffs,” DeFazio wrote to Obama. “Even if there was a legal basis for the tariffs, the $2.4 billion price tag is a disproportionate response, and the 90 U.S. products targeted for tariffs were illegally selected.”
DeFazio, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D.-N.D., led several efforts to end the cross-border program in the past two years.
In a news release, DeFazio said the objection to the program is predominantly because of Mexico’s less stringent regulations on Hours of Service, vehicle safety and driver training and licensing. Several of the tariffs are aimed at products produced in DeFazio’s district and the products from the districts of other members of Congress who have been actively opposed to the pilot program, DeFazio said.
“The U.S. must not cave in to these scare tactics and sacrifice the safety of the traveling public on our highways,” DeFazio told the president. “As you will recall, when you served in the U.S. Senate you joined an overwhelming majority of Congress in repeatedly rejecting this notion. We must call Mexico’s bluff.”
DeFazio told the president that repeated studies by the Department of Transportation's own Inspector General showed that neither Mexico's carrier truck fleet nor its driver licensing and safety rules meet the requirements of U.S. law.
“In addition, federal studies have shown that Mexican trucks are three times more likely to have safety deficiencies than U.S. trucks. In defense of families who share the same highways with these trucks, Congress has firmly rejected the demonstration inspection program,” he wrote.
Asked to respond to the letter, the White House reiterated its previous stances on the entire issue.
“The President has tasked the Department of Transportation to work with the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of State, along with leaders in Congress and Mexican officials, to propose legislation creating a new trucking project that will meet the legitimate concerns of Congress and our NAFTA commitments,“ the White House said in a prepared statement. “Senator Dorgan, the sponsor of the amendment that ended the program, has written to us to express his willingness to work with the administration in good faith to address this issue.”
To read the entire letter, click here.
The Trucker staff can be reached for comment on this article at editor@thetrucker.com.