Truckers, congressman, union lambast Mexico truck program

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, wrote Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood challenging the administration’s cross-border trucking pilot program that opens the U.S.-Mexico border to the free flow of truck traffic.

The Trucker Staff

7/6/2011

Congressmen, small business truckers and union representatives all have lambasted the Department of Transportation’s newly announced signing of a cross-border pilot program agreement with Mexico.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, wrote Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood challenging the administration’s cross-border trucking pilot program that opens the U.S.-Mexico border to the free flow of truck traffic.

He also submitted legislation to limit the administration’s authority to implement the program, but the bill has not yet been issued a number, according to his office. It’s being called the “Protecting America’s Roads Act,” or “PARA.” The bill provides that unless it’s authorized by Congress, the Secretary of Transportation “may not grant authority to a motor carrier domiciled in Mexico to operate beyond United States municipalities and commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border except under a pilot program that meets the requirements of this Act.”

“As I have said many times, three issues must be addressed in the cross-border trucking program: safety, security and job loss,” said DeFazio. “I have sent several letters to DOT asking them to address these issues. My calls for caution have gone unanswered. My legislation puts the brakes on a bad deal for American truck drivers and the traveling public.”

DeFazio in a news release said the bill also will limit the use of Highway Trust Fund dollars to pay for the Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBR) for Mexican trucks.

“As we debate deep and harsh cuts to programs that help middle class families, it is outrageous that taxpayers are being told to foot the bill for the Mexican trucking industry to comply with American safety standards. My bill would stop the Department of Transportation from raiding the Highway Trust Fund to pay for equipment on Mexican trucks. Let the Mexican government or the Mexican carriers pay for their equipment and let’s use U.S. gas tax revenue for its intended purpose of putting Americans to work rebuilding our roads and bridges,” he said.

DeFazio continues to question the legal authority of the DOT to implement a permanent program.

Meanwhile, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) in a news release said its members are “fuming” about LaHood signing the cross-border trucking agreement with Mexico “without providing the public or Congress with the final details of the agreement.”

They questioned the way LaHood went about signing the agreement.

“If the agreement is good for the U.S. why the hell is he [LaHood] sneaking down there to sign it?” said Jim Johnston, President of OOIDA.

“So much for their supposed transparency. Why not let the public see the details before signing the agreement? Seems like the administration is dead set on caving to Mexico’s shakedown regardless of the costs to the American public and our tax coffers.”

“OOIDA has adamantly opposed opening the border because Mexico has failed to institute regulations and enforcement programs that are even remotely similar to those in the United States and because there would be no relevant corresponding reciprocity for U.S. truckers,” the release added.

“People in Washington are constantly talking about two things these days — creating good jobs for Americans and cutting wasteful spending.This program does exactly the opposite for both,” said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of OOIDA. “This program will jeopardize the livelihoods of tens of thousands of U.S.-based small-business truckers and professional truck drivers and undermine the standard of living for the rest of the driver community.”

The Teamsters Union also weighed in against the agreement, with Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa commenting that the program is “probably illegal because it grants permanent operating authority to Mexican trucks after 18 months in the so-called ‘pilot program’ outlined in the proposed rule published in the Federal Register.”

“Congress has not granted DOT the legal authority to do so,” Hoffa said.

“Opening the border to dangerous trucks at a time of high unemployment and rampant drug violence is a shameful abandonment of the DOT’s duty to protect American citizens from harm and to spend American tax dollars responsibly,” Hoffa said.

“This so-called pilot program is a concession to multinational corporations that send jobs to Mexico. It erodes our national security. It endangers motorists. It ignores the rampant corruption among Mexican law enforcement. It lowers wages and robs jobs from hard-working American truck drivers and warehouse workers.”

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“This pilot program doesn’t even meet NAFTA’s requirement that the Mexican government grant comparable authority to U.S. trucks,” Hoffa said. “No trucking company or driver in their right mind would travel in Mexico under the State Department’s current travel warning.”

American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill Graves said he welcomed the new program.

“The American Trucking Associations welcomes this latest step in improving the efficiency of trucking and trade at our southern border. By signing this historic agreement, the U.S. and Mexico have laid the groundwork for continued economic growth on both sides of the border,” Graves stated in a news release.

“Further, ATA is encouraged that Mexico will soon be dropping its incredibly damaging tariffs, which will also spur growth in trade between our two countries.

“We also note that Mexican fleets participating in the program will be bound by the same rules and regulations applicable to American carriers, and we are pleased that the agreement allows for U.S. carriers to compete in Mexico.”

He said ATA is concerned with the expenditure of taxpayer dollars for equipment to be used to monitor Mexican carriers’ HOS and track their movements although “we do appreciate the Department of Transportation’s position that this financial help will be limited to the term of the pilot program and allows the U.S. to more effectively audit participating Mexican carriers.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also lauded the agreement, calling it a “major win for U.S. agriculture, American jobs and our nation’s economic prosperity.”

He said DOT had closed a deal that will provide tariff relief for numerous U.S. agricultural products and manufactured goods.

"This dispute has cost U.S. businesses more than $2 billion,” Vilsack said. For U.S. farmers, exports of affected commodities were reduced by 27 percent. But the agreement not only will ultimately eliminate punitive tariffs, but it also provide opportunities to increase U.S. exports to Mexico and help to expand jobs on both sides of the border, Vilsack stated in a news release.

He said it puts the United States and Mexico on equal footing pertaining to U.S. obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

Dorothy Cox of The Trucker staff may be contacted to comment at dlcox@thetrucker.com.