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NAFTA / MEXICAN TRUCKS

U.S. Told To Allow Trucks From Mexico Ruling By NAFTA Tribunal Raises Fears For Highway Safety - February 7, 2001 (OA)

Robert Collier
Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, February 7, 2001

©2001 San Francisco Chronicle URL:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/02/07/M N7629.DTL

In a move that critics say may bring large numbers of unsafe Mexican trucks to California highways, a trade tribunal yesterday ordered the United States to end its longtime ban on cross-border cargo haulers or pay Mexico damages that could reach billions of dollars.

The ruling by the five-member panel was the first major U.S. defeat under the little-known arbitration process of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The decision caps a three-year process under which Mexico challenged then- President Bill Clinton's decision to suspend the clause of NAFTA that allowed free passage for each nation's trucks. No further appeal of the ruling is possible.

White House officials said that President Bush, who had long opposed the ban on Mexican trucks, would end the measure.

In so doing, Bush will be demonstrating his frequently expressed support for NAFTA and free trade. But he is also running the risk that Mexico's aging trucks and lax safety regulations may jeopardize U.S. highway safety.

The issue is central to NAFTA because 82 percent of the $240 billion annual volume of U.S. trade with Mexico moves by land. Currently, the 4 million Mexican trucks that cross into the United States are allowed only within a zone ranging 3 to 20 miles north of the heavily congested border, where they transfer their loads to American trucks.

U.S. businesses complain that the current system burdens them with excessive delays and costs at the border. Mexico, for its part, estimates that it has lost about $2 billion because of the U.S. policy.

Javier Mancera, a Mexican trade official, said yesterday that his government "fully expects the United States to comply with the ruling" or pay damages.

The panel, which comprises two Americans, two Mexicans and a British chairman, unanimously ruled that the United States is in violation of NAFTA for not considering applications from Mexican trucking companies. Currently, 184 applications are pending.

The ruling comes at a convenient time diplomatically for Bush, just 10 days before he travels to Mexico to talk with new President Vicente Fox.

But supporters of the ban that has been in place -- highway safety groups, the Teamsters union, insurance firms and lawmakers from both parties in Congress -- said yesterday that they will press Bush to simply pay damages to Mexico until that nation improves its safety record.

"Paying the damages, no matter how much they are, would be much cheaper than the deadly impact of the accidents that will occur because of so many deadly trucks on our highways," said Michael Scippa, director of Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways, a Tiburon-based group.

"Trucks coming from Mexico are going to be rolling up and down the freeways of California and the Bay Area and are going to be exposing highway users to a degree of safety problems that we've never ever experienced before," said Chuck Mack, president of Teamsters Joint Council 7, which has 55,000 members in the Bay Area.

Mack, Scippa and other backers of the ban fault Mexico's rules on truck safety for many reasons, such as:

· Mexico has no limits on the hours truckers may drive, while U.S. truckers may drive only for 10 hours straight.

· Mexico's weight limit is 135,000 pounds per truck, while the U.S. limit is 80,000 pounds.

· Mexico's minimum age for truckers is 18, while the U.S. minimum is 21.

A recent report by the U.S. Transportation Department said 35 percent of Mexican trucks that entered the United States last year were ordered off the road by inspectors for significant safety violations. And that figure was based on a very small sampling; less than 1 percent of Mexican vehicles entering the United States were checked.

The study noted that California's truck inspection system is more rigorous than those of Arizona, New Mexico or Texas.

Currently, the four states have 101 inspectors between them and the federal government has 60 inspectors on the Mexico border. In the coming months, some members of Congress are expected to propose legislation to add more federal inspectors.

But liberal critics say that even with more inspectors, lifting the ban is a recipe for disaster.

"The first time the inevitable NAFTA truck crash happens, the Bush administration is going to be in big trouble," said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch.

©2001 San Francisco Chronicle Page A3