White House evaluates new plan for Mexican trucks

White House evaluates new plan for Mexican trucks    Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood expressed confidence Monday that a new plan to restart cross-border trucking program with Mexico will satisfy lawmakers on Capitol Hill who voted early this year to terminate the bilateral program.
   The White House is reviewing the Department of Transportation's recommendations to incorporate additional safety measures in the program and is expected to make a decision soon, LaHood told reporters following a speech on infrastructure funding.
   'We're waiting on the White House to give us a signal so that we can go back to Capitol Hill and meet with lawmakers about our proposal,' the secretary said.
   The United States agreed in the North American Free Trade Agreement to allow Mexican long-haul trucks to deliver and pick up international freight anywhere in the country, but since the mid-1990s Congress has blocked that portion of the deal from being fully implemented on the grounds that Mexican trucks and drivers are subject to looser safety standards. The Bush administration initiated a pilot program in September 2007 that permitted up to 100 Mexican-based carriers to operate in the United States after they passed on-site safety reviews of road equipment, procedures, records and drivers.

Hood

   After Congress killed the program, Mexico retaliated in March by slapping tariffs of 10 percent to 45 percent on 90 U.S. exports ranging from grapes to shampoo and cordless phones. The tariffs are expected to cost U.S. businesses $2.4 billion per year in lost sales.
   LaHood said the DOT proposal addresses driver and equipment safety as well as oversight practices, such as measuring whether drivers are complying with hours-of-service limits.
   Members of Congress are likely to go along with the deal 'because what we've done is taken their ideas and put them in our proposal,' LaHood said.
   DOT officials met with 28 senators and representatives, and vetted the plan with the departments of State, Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative. LaHood also said he met with Teamsters President James Hoffa, whose union has been a staunch opponent of allowing Mexican trucks to operate in the United States. ' Eric Kulisch