Posted on 03/25/2009 7:41:43 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday sent a letter to the California congressional delegation urging it to restore the recently ended pilot program that allowed Mexican trucks to transport goods in the United States.
"In this time of economic distress, when more than one in 10 Californians are out of work and the repercussions are felt throughout our great state, we must do all we can to boost trade with our international partners, not stifle it," Schwarzenegger wrote. "And yet I am afraid that the prohibition recently placed on Mexican truckers will do exactly that, with the result being markets functionally closed to our goods and thousands more Californians unemployed at a time when we can quite literally least afford it."
President Barack Obama recently signed a $40 billion spending bill that included a provision scrapping the program that allowed Mexican trucks to transport goods over long distances on U.S. roads.
Mexico retaliated by imposing duties on $2.4 billion worth of U.S. products
Schwarzenegger said the action violates the U.S.'s commitments under the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The Republican governor said he is sympathetic to safety and environmental concerns about Mexican trucks but that "we must not allow safety to serve as a smokescreen for protectionist measures that cause more economic harm at a time when this country already has serious challenges to overcome."
AB32 .. cough cough .. hack hack.
Gubinor Smokeblower says let the trucks roll.. Safety shouldn’t stop trade.
ping
Arnold is an idiot...but I support free trade and freerer trade. He’s right on this but not much else.
How about letting AMERICANS drive the trucks?
Arnold is the one who just proposed new “clean air” deisel engines that cost $20,000 to upgrade.
Are the Mexican trucks retrofitted with the new green attachment?
and thousands more Californians unemployed at a time when we can quite literally least afford it.”
Cry me a river. DEPORT the millions of illegals in CA and there will be PLENTY of jobs.
this program is of limited scope and allows for an initial 97 fully modern trucks to cross the border. we’re not talking about letting every rickety deisel belching monster in mexico to come across.
the outrage over letting them cross seems kind of silly.
camel’s nose.. tent.. yada yada
How much exactly do those tariffs add up to? Methinks Arnold complains too much.
My guess is they would add up to about .0002% of the taxpayer dollars Arnie and Obambi want to invest in "infrastructure" to support said "free" trade. What a crock.
Hey all those folks out in breakfast food land get the government they deserve and voted for.
California, land of fruit, nut’s and flakes.
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