Border Trade Alliance reacts to U.S.-Mexico trucking rules proposal

SAN ANTONIO – Border Trade Alliance President Nelson Balido today released the following statement in reaction to Friday's publication of a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposal to initiate a United States-Mexico cross-border long-haul trucking program:

"This is another positive development in the concerted effort by the Obama and Calderón administrations to bring this border trucking dispute to a close.

"The retaliatory tariffs that Mexico has imposed on U.S. goods in response to the trucking impasse are hurting the U.S. economy and are a drag on President Obama's goal to double exports. As Texas A&M University's Center for North American Studies recently reported, the U.S. agriculture sector alone has been negatively affected by the tariffs to the tune of $153 billion.

"I'm confident that the U.S. and Mexican governments can implement a cross-border trucking program that is safe, secure and lives up to the spirit and letter of the North American Free Trade Agreement. 

"While we're enthusiastic over this latest development, those of us in the trade community are cognizant of the fact that a solution to this issue has been close in the past, only to elude us. We'll be crossing our fingers that the U.S. will soon be living up to its responsibilities under NAFTA."

The phased-in proposal was announced by FMCSA on Friday and appears online here.

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