The U.S.-Mexican Trucking Dispute: A Product of a Politicized Trade Agreement

INTRODUCTION The passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) opened new era of friendly relations between the United States and Mexico. After years of mutual distrust, the United States and Mexico, along with Canada, bound their political and economic futures by forming free trade bloc. With 85 percent of previous U.S. and Mexican trade conducted by land transportation,l the opening of the international trucking market was to be critical component of NAFTA's future. The treaty's land transportation provisions contemplated gradual phase-out of mutual restrictions on motor carrier operations between Mexico and the United States. On December 18, 1995, U.S. and Mexican freight trucks were to be authorized to travel freely between the two countries' border states.2 Mexican truckers would become eligible to obtain permits to operate with their own trucks, trailers, and drivers in the four U.S. states bordering Mexico.3 U.S. truckers were to be given similar authority to operate in the six Mexican border states. Permits beyond the border states would become available in December 1997. This freedom would have marked the end of thirteen-year-old U.S. moratorium on the entry of Mexican trucks.4 Many expressed concerns regarding the envisioned transportation system. With increased traffic would come increased risks in the areas of public safety, the environment, and illegal drug transport. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)5 and Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH) took tough stance against the phase-out provisions, arguing opening the border would compromise U.S. safety standards and put U.S. citizens at risk.6 Joan Claybrook, co-chair of CRASH, warned the trade agreement would result in a compromising down on [U.S.] requirements.7 The groups' efforts to stymie the trucking provisions paid off. On the scheduled day of the opening, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Federico Pena announced the United States would not process Mexican applications for operating authority.8 Pena said safety concerns and inadequate harmonization between U.S. and Mexican trucking standards compelled the administration to override NAFTA's trucking provisions.9 The secretary declared the years of preparation for the border opening to be insufficient, telling reporters the administration wanted to implement NAFTA correctly.10 The Clinton administration's legal authority for violating the NAFTA timetable is result of the absence of any provisions for opening land transportation in the NAFTA Implementation Act. The Bus Regulatory Reform Act of 1982 imposed moratorium on Mexican truck operations in the United States. Under the moratorium, Mexican trucks were expressly prohibited from conducting U.S. operations. The president possessed sole authority to remove or modify the moratorium if he determined that such removal or modification is in the national interest.12 Mexican trucks, however, may operate inside U.S. commercial zones.13 On January 1, 1994, the president partially modified the moratorium to allow Mexican motor carriers to carry passengers between Mexico and the United States.14 He gave Congress written notice on November 4, 1993, as the statute required.15 Apparently, the safety concerns over freight vehicles so agitated the administration in December 1995 were not concern two years earlier when it approved bus traffic liberalization. Because the president gave no notice in anticipation of the December 18, 1995 liberalization phase for motor carriers, the moratorium on Mexican trucks remains in effect. U.S. and Mexican leaders have made little progress in reopening the border. Some have claimed the president was catering to the unions on the eve of an election year. The Mexican Commerce secretary publicly decried the U.S. action as violation of the treaty17 and requested consultations with the United States under NAFTA Article 2006. …