Sep 6, 2007 12:50 pm US/Central
Truckers Protest Mexican Long-Distance Cargo Plan
SAN DIEGO (AP) ―
Dozens of truckers waved signs and American flags at a border crossing Thursday to protest a program that will allow up to 100 Mexican trucking companies to freely haul their cargo anywhere in the United States.
The U.S. Transportation Department was expected to begin issuing operating permits in the pilot program as early as Thursday.
The Teamsters union, Sierra Club and nonprofit group Public Citizen sued to try to stop the program, arguing that there won't be enough oversight of the drivers coming into the U.S. from Mexico and public safety would be endangered.
A federal appeals court ruled Friday, though, that the Bush administration could move ahead.
Government lawyers said the program was a necessary part of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the trucks enrolled in the program would meet U.S. regulations.
NAFTA requires that all roads in the United States, Mexico and Canada be opened to carriers from all three countries. Canadian trucking companies already have full access to U.S. roads, but Mexican trucks can travel only about 20 miles inside the country at certain border crossings.
The current pilot program is designed to study whether opening the U.S.-Mexico border to all trucks could be done safely.
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