LaHood Wants Mexican Truck Program

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says – there is going to be a Mexican truck program. LaHood met Tuesday with lawmakers to discuss quickly reinstating a program that allows Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways. He says - my goal is to build a program to satisfy the safety concerns of Congress. Last week, Mexico imposed tariffs on U.S. exports in retaliation for Congress ending a pilot program that allowed Mexican trucking companies to send vehicles more than 25 miles past the U.S. border.

Ending the pilot program gave Mexico the opportunity to impose punitive tariffs under the North American Free Trade Agreement which requires the United States to allow Mexican trucks to operate in the U.S. A NAFTA tribunal has held that U.S. restrictions on Mexican trucks violate the deal.

The American Farm Bureau Federation backs a cross-border trucking program with Mexico. In a letter to President Obama, Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman wrote - we urge you to find a resolution that will honor our obligations under NAFTA, eliminating any cause for Mexico to halt U.S. trade. Farm Bureau says Mexico’s tariffs will cost us 2.4 billion dollars in trade retaliation. The tariffs cover about 90 U.S. products and range from 10 percent to 40 percent.