Over 100 U.S. business groups express support for NAFTA truck provisions

A group of U.S.-based organizations sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Tuesday in support of maintaining trucking provisions in any new version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).    A group of 101 U.S.-based organizations sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Tuesday in support of maintaining trucking provisions in any new version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
   The organizations said they depend on both the U.S. and Mexico trucking industry, and that eliminating NAFTA trucking, including any investment protections, would have a long-term negative impact on their businesses.
   They noted how the rising trade in both directions is putting an increasing amount of pressure on their southern border land ports.
   “Permitting Mexican carriers to haul freight beyond the border zones will help alleviate some of the congestion at the border, creating more efficiency through the system,” the group wrote. “By having these trucks drive further into border states, it will alleviate truck traffic out of the commercial border zones.”
   In addition, the organizations argued that Mexican carriers and drivers are not in competition with U.S. carriers and drivers because they are not permitted to haul domestic U.S. freight and they often work in tandem with their U.S. motor carrier partners.
   They also noted how Mexican carriers undergo a case-by-case review process before the U.S. Department of Transportation grants them authority to operate, and these carriers are required to adhere to all U.S. laws and regulations.
   However, Rep. DeFazio, D-Ore., previously said that Mexico does not have any drug or alcohol testing of its commercial drivers; does not have a centralized database of commercial driver’s licenses or driving offenses, making it difficult if not impossible to track and disqualify drivers who are unsafe and would be disqualified in the U.S.; and in Mexico, drivers are “pretty much exploited and abused,” as there are no hours-of-service rules.
   A fifth round of NAFTA talks kicked off today in Mexico City and are scheduled to run through Nov. 21. The parties extended talks through March during last month’s negotiating round, abandoning a December deadline.
   U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Tuesday said it “would be an enormously complex thing” to get a deal by the end of scheduled talks in March, however, he expects negotiators to present “some sort” of agreement for President Donald Trump to consider, according to a report from Bloomberg. “NAFTA is on a very short time fuse,” he said.
   Ross said the U.S. has leverage to pressure Mexico and Canada because they have more to lose if the pact collapses, according to a Wall Street Journal report.