From: matus [matus@snet.net]
Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2001 9:44 PM
To: matus@snet.net
Subject: MFD List - U.S. roads to be opened to Mexican trucks

(Previously I sent some articles out about the restriction being implied to
Mexican trucks.  As part of the North American Free Trade agreement (NAFTA)
trade routes will be open with Mexico by Jan 2000 but unions and special
interests groups moved to block the measure.  The common argument being that
'greedy' corporations will just move their jobs to low wage Mexican workers
instead of the comparatively overpaid and overvalued American workers.  The
common libertarian response to that being that Mexican workers are people
too and live in abject poverty, and ANY wage their is better then no wage.
I feel, personally, that all people in the world have just as much value and
need to earn wages, I do not value an American worker more than a Mexican,
Chinese, Indonesian, or Russian worker.  They are all people and are all as
valuable to this world.  But an even greater benefit that comes from trade
agreements like NAFTA is that it opens up boarders to the free exchange of
information and goods, this makes both societies prosper.  American median
standard of living increases because more goods and services are available
at lower prices, which Mexican workers standards of living increase as well
since new jobs are brought to them.  The more open two societies are the
more they both grow.  In addition, the road blocks that are the source of an
'US vs. Them' mentality are maintained and reinforced by these barriers to
the exchange of goods and information.  The more free and open boarders are,
the better off people of both nations are.  This applies to the world of
post-industrialized nations trading with industrialized and pre-industrial
nations, and the global economic median in the world is ever increasing, and
nations get pulled by capitalism into industrialization then post
industrialization, making the lives of every person in the world better. -
Mike)

U.S. roads to be opened to Mexican trucks
----------
Nando Times/AP
   The White House and congressional negotiators have agreed
   to open more American highways to Mexican trucks, but
   also to increase safety checks on the vehicles. The move
   will bring the U.S. into compliance with the North
   American Free Trade Agreement. (11/29/01)

http://www.free-market.net/rd/427251173.html

Politics: White House, congressional negotiators agree on plan to
open U.S. roads to Mexican trucks

Copyright © 2001 AP Online

By SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (November 28, 2001 9:35 p.m. EST) - The White House and
congressional negotiators have agreed on a plan to open more American
highways to Mexican trucks, but also to require more safety checks on the
vehicles.

Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Phil Gramm, R-Texas, on Wednesday announced
the deal reached by House and Senate negotiators and the Bush
administration. The issue had been a sticking point as the House and Senate
negotiators try to reach agreement on a transportation spending bill.

"This is a victory for safety, for trade and for both our countries," said
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a lead negotiator on the issue. Rep. Hal Rogers,
R-Ky., also participated in negotiations.

The 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement among the United States, Mexico
and Canada called for allowing Mexican trucks to travel throughout the
United States by Jan. 1, 2000. But opposition from unions and safety groups
kept that from happening. Currently, trucks from Mexico are restricted to a
commercial zone along the border.

Bush has pledged to uphold the NAFTA provision, and Mexican President
Vicente Fox has said it is key to U.S.-Mexico relations.

But opponents in Congress cited safety concerns and threw up a roadblock
last summer.

The House passed an outright ban on Mexican trucks in June, while the Senate
in August passed a measure calling for strict safety regulations and more
truck inspectors at the border. Bush opposed both bills and threatened to
veto the transportation spending bill if the final version delayed opening
more roads.

"With the veto threat out there we knew we had to make some revisions and
that's what we did," Webster said.

Gramm and McCain had vowed to filibuster any measure that the White House
opposed.

The senators said the agreement will "allow the border to open in a timely
manner, consistent with our obligations under NAFTA, while protecting the
safety of the American traveling public."

The agreement also got the endorsement of Rep. Martin Sabo, D-Minn., who
attached the amendment banning the Mexican trucks to the transportation
bill.

About 36 percent of Mexican trucks inspected last year were taken out of
service, compared to about 25 percent of U.S. trucks.

Those who have favored opening more U.S. highways to the trucks say the
failure rates are based on vehicles that operate only in the commercial
border zone. They say carriers will use safer and better trucks for longer
trips.

The Bush administration's plan would have permitted Mexican companies that
said they were in compliance with U.S. safety standards to operate in the
country for 18 months while their claims were verified.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, several groups said that policy seemed foolhardy
in light of heightened border security.

Bret Caldwell, spokesman for the truck drivers' Teamsters union, declined
comment because he had not seen the agreement. A spokesman for the Americans
Trucking Associations could not be reached for comment.

Among some of the details of the agreement:

- The Department of Transportation will conduct onsite inspections of half
of all Mexican carriers wanting to operate their fleets in the United
States. A Senate-passed measure called for inspecting all carriers.

- DOT must verify the operators' license of all Mexican truck drivers
carrying high-risk cargo and verify licenses of at least half of all other
Mexican truck drivers crossing the border.

- Scales and weigh-in-motion equipment will be immediately placed at five
border ports of entry and five more within a year. The Senate measure called
for putting that equipment at every border point.

- Trucks can cross border only at crossings staffed with inspectors and
where safety inspections can be done.

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