Posted on 07/07/2011 8:39:31 PM PDT by Sarajevo
MEXICO CITY Mexico and the United States have signed an agreement that will allow cargo trucks from each country to circulate without restriction on the other nations highways, ending a long-running dispute.
The memorandum was signed here by the heads of Mexicos Communications and Transportation Secretariat and the U.S. Department of Transportation as a follow-up to an accord reached in March by Presidents Barack Obama and Felipe Calderon.
Under the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexican trucks were to have been able to circulate freely throughout the U.S. roadway system as soon as the trade pact linking the United States, Canada and Mexico went into effect in 1994.
But previous U.S. legislation left Mexican truckers restricted to a narrow strip along the border while the case made its way through the U.S. legal system.
The simmering dispute grew hotter in 2009 when Washington unilaterally canceled a pilot program begun two years earlier that had allowed Mexican trucks to carry cargo in U.S. border states. The Mexican government retaliated that same year by slapping tariffs on nearly 100 U.S. products.
According to the terms of the plan agreed Wednesday, trucking firms will operate initially under a provisional, 18-month permit; once that period has expired, they will be eligible for a permanent permit if they are found to be in compliance with safety and other requirements, Mexicos Communications and Transportation Secretariat said.
The new program will consist of three stages.
In the first stage, authorities will review the permits of the trucking companies and their vehicles and drivers to verify compliance with safety and environmental norms and ensure they have cargo and civil responsibility insurance, among other requirements.
In the second stage, trucking firms must submit to two audits over a period of 18 months to ensure their operations conform to the established road safety regimen, the secretariat said.
Finally, in the third stage, companies will receive definitive and irrevocable authorization to circulate freely in both nations territories ... in accordance with the same rules that apply to U.S. trucking firms, it said.
Companies can apply to participate in the program beginning Thursday and authorities estimate that the first permits will be issued in August.
As a result of the agreement signed Wednesday, retaliatory tariffs Mexico had imposed on 99 U.S. products will be reduced by 50 percent beginning July 8.
The tariffs are to be eliminated completely once the first Mexican truck is allowed to enter the United States under the new program.
The secretariat said, however, that Mexico reserves the right to reimpose the retaliatory tariffs based on any new instance of non-compliance with treaty obligations.
The new program, which is to be evaluated monthly by a binational team of monitors, will bring direct benefits to producers, exporters, consumers and users of cargo transport, which will become more efficient and competitive, the Mexican government said.
Forever bashing Americans...
Maybe you would be happier living some other place.
Just saying.
Not Americans. Teamsters. Sorry that you do not understand the difference.
Thank you for a classic example of the non sequitur in action. Perfect!
Failed Latin in high school, I gather.
By the way, Teamster truck drivers suck>>>>>>>>>
Not as much as your anti-American attitude. Go move to Mexico or Ghana.
Not that it would ever be seriously enforced, but I do wonder if the feds considered their own qualification rule for commercial drivers in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (391.11):
(2) Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records;
God, I love to watch small minds operate.
Figuring out a way to organize the Mexican drivers.
That depends, of course, on how much you tip the driver.
“...if not kill, American trucking.”
not to mention American motorists...
Indeed,In the first stage, authorities will review the permits of the trucking companies and their vehicles and drivers.
In Los Angeles we at least two trucks a week that flip on the freeway,yes most are mexican drivers.
“Stay clear of ALL trucks on the road!”
And be extra careful if they’re stopped.
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