U.S. Move to Ban Mexican Trucks Is Causing Rift

In the most concrete victory yet for labor interests opposed to the North American Free Trade Agreement, the House has voted to levy severe financial penalties on Mexican shipping companies whose trucks venture more than a short distance inside the United States.

The legislation was attached at the last minute to a motor vehicle safety bill that was passed on a 415-5 vote last week. Senior congressional aides said that most legislators probably were not aware of the provision, which would undermine a key NAFTA provision by severely limiting the access of Mexican trucking companies to U.S. roadways.

The result of an intense lobbying effort by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, it comes amid mounting opposition in Congress and in the Clinton administration to opening the border to Mexican trucks.

Although the legislation requires Senate approval and President Clinton’s signature, it is supported by the administration and seems almost certain to become law within weeks.

The 1993 NAFTA accord that drew the United States, Canada and Mexico into a trade alliance of unprecedented breadth was to have given trucks from the three countries unrestricted access to North American roads beginning in 1995. But that timetable has been pushed back twice amid intense pressure from organized labor, which is concerned about the safety of Mexican trucks and competition from Mexican shippers.

The Teamsters have argued for years that Mexican trucks are unsafe. Unlike their U.S. and Canadian counterparts, drivers are not required to keep logbooks, undergo regular roadside inspections or limit the number of hours per day they are behind the wheel.

“Clearly, if the [federal Department of Transportation] does not start issuing the harsh fines and penalties that this bill empowers it to do, then we will find millions upon millions of unsafe Mexican trucks on our highways and byways,” Rep. William O. Lipinski (D-Ill.) said in a speech on the House floor. The amendment was sponsored by Lipinski and Rep. Jack Quinn (R-N.Y.).

Mexican officials argue that the country’s transportation oversight agency already has a system in place to conduct inspections consistent with U.S. standards. Moreover, Mexican truck drivers have a generally good record in the border areas where they have been allowed to drive freely, according to officials in those areas. Free trade advocates say that safety concerns can be alleviated adequately by instituting a certification program for Mexican trucks seeking to operate on U.S. highways.

The U.S. delays in granting access have become a sticking point in relations between the United States and Mexico. The Mexican government has threatened to retaliate if its trucks are not given broader access to U.S. highways. Canadian trucks have enjoyed full access to U.S. roads since 1982.

Trucking is a critical element of the free-trade accord, since 90% of all U.S.-Mexico trade moves via highway. As originally envisioned, NAFTA’s highway access clause was expected to significantly lessen transportation costs.

Opening American roads to Mexican truckers could be especially significant for California. The state’s Department of Transportation said that cross-border trade between California and Mexico, 98% of which is transported by truck, is valued at $14 billion annually.

Talks between Mexico and the United States on resolving the dispute have dragged on for years. The United States has pressured Mexico for more aggressive truck inspections, enforcement programs and staffing levels for inspectors. Mexico has said that U.S. reluctance to allow its truckers access violates the trade pact.

Last week’s House action caught Mexico off-guard. On Monday, Mexican officials scrambled to respond, saying that they might file a formal protest if the legislation is signed into law.

The current agreement calls for lifting the ban on Mexican trucks on Jan. 1, 2000. But during an appearance before labor leaders in New York last week, Clinton said for the first time that he has no intention of honoring that timetable.

“I will tell you one thing that I have done that the Teamsters agree with,” Clinton said. “I don’t intend to allow the trucking rules to be changed until there’s safety there that we can know about.”

In the meantime, Mexican trucks have been restricted to operating within “commercial zones,” narrow swaths that extend anywhere from three to 20 miles inside the U.S. border. The trucks must off-load their cargo within those zones and transfer it to American shippers.

The House measure levies fines of up to $25,000 on Mexican trucking companies whose drivers venture beyond the commercial zones. First-time offenders would have their licenses to operate in the United States suspended for six months. Second offenses could lead to permanent suspensions.

Momentum to restrict the movement of Mexican trucks on U.S. roads has been building for months. An audit released early this year by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation found that almost half of Mexican trucks inspected at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal 1997 failed inspections. U.S. trucks had a 25% failure rate and Canadian trucks 17% in the same period.

But the trucks that were inspected represented less than 1% of the 3.7 million trucks that crossed from Mexico into the United States during that period. In many cases, they were pulled over because of visible safety problems, making it unclear whether they constitute a representative sample.

The Teamsters union has stridently opposed the NAFTA border opening. It fears that companies will do business with cheaper Mexican companies and lower-paid drivers, driving down trucking wages in the United States. A Teamsters spokesman said that the union had worked closely with Lipinski and Quinn in drafting the legislation.

In a statement released Monday, Teamsters President James P. Hoffa applauded the House action.

“NAFTA has exposed American families to increased accidents and fatalities through unsafe trucks flowing into the country uninspected and unchecked,” Hoffa said. “The broad support for these provisions proves that bipartisan cooperation can accomplish what is needed for the safety of America’s roads.”

Eugene A. Conti, assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Transportation, said the administration supports the House action.

“Safety being President Clinton’s highest transportation priority, we welcome any additional tool that Congress would provide to enforce the law and improve highway safety,” Conti said.

But Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics, which supports NAFTA, called the vote “a tremendous breach of faith on a key provision” of the free trade accord.

Hufbauer said that he expects Mexico to retaliate.

“The Teamsters have been working this safety issue since the provision went into effect and it is clear that they don’t want it to be resolved,” Hufbauer said. “While there might be a legitimate issue there, they want to use it as a screen. They are deathly afraid the Mexican truckers will deprive them of their jobs.”