So what happens if, after the appropriations bill becomes law without funding the Mexican trucks, the NAFTA arbitration panel awards damages against the US government? Suppose congress refuses to authorize money for the award?
My opinion is that congress should amend the NAFTA authorization law to put limits on what damages the US will honor. In this case, the panel could award damages even though Mexico has no legitimate and effective tracking of driver records, so allowing Mexican trucks in will endanger public safety and perhaps national security.
Also, I am not a lawyer, but perhaps there would be a way to challenge such an award in the courts on the grounds that the safety concerns outweigh any arbitration panel’s decision, although I don’t know exactly what legal arguments would be used.
The United States’ twenty-year-old dispute with Canada over softwood lumber probably is the best example of how we are able to ignore NAFTA arbitration rulings.