Mexico: Our Truckers Not Ready for NAFTA

MEXICO CITY (January 11, 2000) – The president of Mexico’s National Chamber of Cargo Trucking (Canacar), Miguel Quintanilla, has said that his country’s truckers need five more years to prepare themselves for free access to the United States, since fully opening up the borders could put many Mexican carriers out of business due to their inability to compete. Under the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement,Mexican trucks were to be granted the right to travel anywhere in the U.S. as of Jan. 1, 2000, but the U.S. government has delayed this right due to concerns about the mechanical fitness of Mexican vehicles. The average Mexican commercial truck is 16 years old, compared to five years in the United States.