The Issue
With a few exceptions, Mexico-domiciled motor carriers are limited by law to operating in specified commercial zones along the southern border of the United States. For many years multi-national corporations and large trucking interests have worked to provide trucking companies and truck drivers from Mexico with full access to highways and freight moves in the U.S. with hopes of lower rates and cheap labor costs.
OOIDA has spent a tremendous amount of time and resources fighting those efforts on Capitol Hill and in the Courts.
In March 2011, Presidents Calderon and Obama announced intentions to begin a new pilot program to allow motor carriers from Mexico to have full access to U.S. highways.
This new program is in response to retaliatory tariffs placed on U.S. exports by Mexico for having shut down a previous pilot program. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) had announced a cross-border pilot program that would allow up to 100 Mexico-based carriers access to all U.S. highways, and in return, 100 U.S carriers would be allowed to haul loads into Mexico. The decision was cited as a requirement to fulfill trucking provisions agreed to in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), eventually extended the program was because very few U.S. and Mexican companies were willing to participate in the program.
OOIDA opposes allowing Mexico-based trucking companies full access to U.S. highways because the DOT has not fully demonstrated proof that Mexico will be held to the same safety and security standards as its U.S. counterparts. Mexican standards are not as stringent or as strictly enforced as U.S. standards. For example, Mexico has lower qualifications for acquiring commercial drivers licenses, no certified drug and alcohol testing centers and no hours-of-service regulations.
Truckers in the U.S. must contend with an ever increasing burden of safety, security and environmental regulations and that those regulations significantly increase their cost of operations. This means Mexican companies and drivers operate for much less costs than U.S. companies and drivers, which allows for a tremendous competitive advantage. This will result in driving down rates and compensation for U.S. owner-operators and drivers.
Due in large part to OOIDA’s efforts, legislation was passed (FY09 Omnibus Appropriations bill) and signed into law that included a provision that removed funding for the U.S. DOT’s Mexican trucking pilot program.
In March 2009, the government of Mexico claimed that the U.S. was in violation of terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and retaliated by increasing tariffs on 90 products and commodities that the U.S. exports to their country (roughly $2.4 billion worth of new tariffs).
To date, the U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk has yet to question the legitimacy of the tariffs. While tariffs may be permissible under very specific provisions in NAFTA, this does not mean that the current tariffs have adhered to those restrictions and are allowable. Trade experts are not only questioning the size of Mexico's retaliatory tariffs ($2.4 billion), but also their overall legitimacy.
Mexico’s tariffs caused some American agricultural and manufacturing interests to join big shippers in pushing for opening the border to Mexican truckers.
Congressional leaders whose constituents were targeted by the Mexican tariffs have repeatedly called on Ron Kirk to fight back and challenge those tariffs, but so far the USTR has refused to do so.
The Status
After going through the motions of providing the public with an opportunity to review and comment on the cross-border trucking agreement and program, on July 6, 2011 the U.S. DOT announced that the program had been finalized and that an official agreement with Mexico had been signed by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.
Over the past months, OOIDA has worked hand in hand with lawmakers to oppose a new cross-border trucking program with Mexico, going so far as to call upon the Obama Administration to begin the process of removing the trucking provisions with Mexico from the NAFTA pact. OOIDA members have also helped by reaching out to their elected representatives in Washington.
The first company, Transporte Olympic, crossed the border and was also granted full operating authority Friday, October 21, 2011.
You can click here to read OOIDA’s comments about that company: http://www.ooida.com/Issues&Actions/Regulatory/issues/docs/092611- OOIDAsCommentonTransportesOlympicFINAL.pdf
Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) wrote a letter to Sec.LaHood on October 31, 2011 expressing his concern with the Mexican-domiciled trucking companies’ who were granted operating approval despite their poor safety records.
Rockefeller letter: http://www.ooida.com/Issues&Actions/Regulatory/issues/docs/RockefellerltrOct2011.pdf
OOIDA worked with Congressmen Peter DeFazio, Duncan Hunter, and Daniel Lipinski to develop legislation (H.R.2407 – the “Protecting America's Roads Act”) that will stop DOT from granting Mexico-based carriers permanent operating authority and from using tax-payer money to buy EOBRs (electronic on board recorders) for those carriers. That bill was introduced on July 6, 2011 and currently has 16 cosponsors.
Initially, the Department of Transportation announced that the program’s first participant was to be a company called Grupo Behr. OOIDA reviewed and commented on the safety records of that company and later its application was placed on hold. http://www.ooida.com/Issues&Actions/Regulatory/issues/docs/092211-GrupoBehrPASAComment.pdf.
October 19, 2011 OOIDA hosted a press conference at the border protesting the announcement of Transporte Olympic being granted authority. The press conference was attended by tCongressmen Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and Bob Filner (D – CA). Watch a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hc39gSwO14
On August 11, 2011 OOIDA filed comments with the DOT disputing their “Environmental Assessment” of the cross-border program as well as citing significant differences between the U.S. and Mexico on fuel and other environmental standards.
Review those comments: http://www.ooida.com/Issues&Actions/Regulatory/issues/docs/mexican-truck-comments-final-2.pdf
In May and July 2011 OOIDA filed formal comments with the DOT disputing several parts of their proposed cross-border trucking deal with Mexico.
On July 6, 2011 OOIDA filed a lawsuit in federal court against the DOT asking the court to “enjoin, set-aside, suspend (in whole or in part) or determine the validity of the implementation of (DOT’s cross-border program).” We are currently awaiting a response from the Court regarding future proceedings on this legal challenge.
What we can do
Members and concerned citizens should be calling, writing and faxing public officials in Washington, D.C. to demand that they support H.R. 2404 and oppose efforts to open our highways to Mexico-domiciled trucks and truck drivers. In addition to the safety implications for all highway users, officials need to hear how U.S.-based truckers must contend with an ever increasing burden of safety, security and environmental regulations and that those regulations significantly increase your cost of operations.
CONTACT INFORMATION –
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative:
USTR’s Intergovernmental Affairs & Public Liaison office: (202) 395-6120
FAX: (202) 395-3692U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk
Office of the United States Trade Representative
600 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20508
U.S. Department of Commerce:
Secretary Gary Locke
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20230Email: TheSec@doc.gov
Phone: (202) 482-2000International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20230
Phone: (800) 872-8723
U.S. Department of Transportation:
Secretary Ray LaHood
Office of the Secretary of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Suite W60-300
Washington, DC 20590
Congress:
To call your 2 Senators and your Representative in the House, call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, provide the operator with your home zip code. The operator will connect you with the offices of your elected representatives.
To write and/or fax to your Senators:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfmTo write and/or fax to your U.S. Representative:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
President Obama:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Comments: (202) 456-1111
FAX: (202) 456-2461The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500