LaHood ready to take Mexico truck proposal he sent to White House to Congress
DOT Secretary Ray LaHood said he thinks the Mexico truck program his department has put together meets the criteria of what Congress is looking for in such a program. (Associated Press)
By LYNDON FINNEY
The Trucker Staff
6/5/2009
WASHINGTON — Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood says he’s sent a proposal to the White House for a program to replace the recently ended Cross Border Demonstration Project and he’s ready to head to Capitol Hill to convince members of Congress a new program is a go.
“We’ve put together a Mexican truck program that we think meets the criteria from our discussions with a number of members of Congress,” LaHood told the National Press Club May 21.
LaHood said that to craft the program, he had personally gone to Capitol Hill and met with 28 to 30 members of the House and Senate to find out from them what it would really take to get their support for a Mexican truck agreement.
“This is part of NAFTA. It’s something that we need to do,” he said in answer to a question. “It’s a part of a trade agreement. I hope to get back up to Capitol Hill after the [Memorial Day] recess and talk to these members of Congress and tell them what we’ve done. Almost everything that we’ve included in the proposal has to do with safety. These were the major concerns expressed by members of Congress, that there’s good metrics for testing safety on the mechanical part of the trucks, good metrics for judging whether drivers are complying with the Hours of Service, good metrics to determine if the drivers that are driving are driving on licenses that have been issued according to all the rules and regulations, and trying to meet all of those standards.
“And then I hope once we have a chance to share that information with Congress, that we can have the Mexican truck program reinstated.”
Shortly after the pilot project ended, President Barack Obama tasked the office of the U.S. Trade Representative to work with the Department of Transportation, the State Department and Congress to create a new program.
LaHood not only met with members of Congress, but held a listening session with trucking industry stakeholders to get input on a new program.
During the process of meeting with Congressional leaders and stakeholders, both DOT and White House spokespersons said LaHood was gathering information to present a “set of principles” for Obama to take to Mexico to discuss with Mexican President Felipe Calderón when the two met in April.
Little has been said about principles or a full-blown proposal since.
Asked whether what LaHood sent to the White House was an actual program proposal or merely a set of principles, a spokesperson for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which will have the responsibility for implementing and monitoring any Mexican truck program, deferred to what LaHood told the press club.
Meanwhile, Mexican truckers have filed a lawsuit against the United States seeking $6 billion in compensation for losses they claim to have suffered since Washington banned them from crossing the border in violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Mexico's National Cargo Transportation Association, or Canacar (Cámara Nacional del Autotransporte de Carga), filed the lawsuit representing 4,500 trucking companies, said Pedro Ojeda, the group's lawyer.
Ojeda said Canacar filed an arbitration notice with the U.S. State Department under NAFTA in April.
"This is to demand equal treatment and reciprocity because our industry is suffering," Ojeda said.
The U.S. was required under NAFTA to grant Mexican trucks full access to its highways by January 2000, but opposition from U.S. labor unions and consumer groups led U.S. legislators to delay the opening until a pilot program allowing some trucks across was instituted in 2007.
The Teamsters union, U.S. consumer groups and independent insurers have warned that Mexican trucks are unsafe and lobbied Congress to keep them out. Many unions also voiced fears that U.S. drivers would lose work if lower-paid Mexican truckers were allowed to carry goods across the United States.
In March, President Barack Obama signed a bill that included a ban on spending for the pilot program. Mexico retaliated by imposing tariffs of 10 percent to 45 percent on dozens of U.S. exports ranging from fruit and wine to washing machines.
The tariffs were effective, LaHood told the press club.
“The one thing that the Mexicans did that has been very effective, they put tariffs on goods and on products,” LaHood said. “And it’s had a huge impact on producers and suppliers around the country. And now senators and members of the House are hearing from their producer groups about the huge impacts that these tariffs are having on these 90 items that they’ve put tariffs on. And so it is having an impact. I think we’ll have a chance throughout the early part of the summer to get this resolved and have it reinstated in a way that reflects what the Congress wanted, which revolves almost exclusively around safety.”
Associated Press sources contributed to this report. 8
Lyndon Finney of The Trucker staff can be reached to comment on this article at editor@thetrucker.com.
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