WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters warned that now is not the time to halt the controversial Mexican cross-border program because tampering with the trucking provisions under NAFTA could hurt an already struggling U.S. economy.

The DOT’s cross-border trucking pilot program, which is scheduled to last a year, has been under fire ever since it was launched last September.

Congress recently passed a bill that cut off funding for such programs, but when the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration pressed on — arguing the legislation applied to future programs and not the one that was underway — special interest groups and the Teamsters sued.

All parties currently await a ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco.

Peters said at Monday’s event that a coalition of more than 69 U.S. companies and agricultural and business organizations support the project because of the benefits it provides to U.S. exporters, who every year ship billions worth of products and produce into Mexico. Should Congress choose to end the project, Mexico has the right under the rules of NAFTA to impose fees and tariffs on U.S. goods that would surely result in lost business and lost jobs, she said.

Safety standards in Mexico simply are not on
par with those in the United States, says OOIDA.

“Our drivers and our workers don’t deserve a timeout from success and prosperity. So my message to Congress is clear. If you want to help American businesses thrive, support American agricultural success, and champion American highway safety, then keep on trucking with cross border shipping,” she said.

The DOT presented information from Dermot Hayes, professor of economics and finance, Iowa State University, on the likely employment impacts if Mexico decides to retaliate for the U.S. not making good on its NAFTA responsibilities.

Hayes says according to “reliable confidential sources inside Mexico, Mexican policymakers have constructed a “retaliation list” that hits industrial sectors in key U.S states – items for which it will restrict imports from the U.S. into Mexico.

Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association Executive VP Todd Spencer called the argument “a sad attempt at economic fear mongering.”

“Despite their lip service, they well know that the pilot program is outside of the law.”

Spencer finds humor in the Secretary’s contention that the cross-border pilot program presents U.S.-based truckers with a ‘promise of prosperity’.

“Safety standards in Mexico simply are not on par with those in the United States, and few U.S. trucking companies even appear interested in going south,” added Spencer. “The program is being spun as a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.”