Washington – The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to delay a Bush administration plan to allow Mexican trucks full access to U.S. highways.
The trucks would have to be declared safe first, the lawmakers said, and Mexico would have to give U.S. truckers the same access south of the border.
The House voted 411-3 to approve a three-year Department of Transportation pilot program that would restrict opening the border to 100 carriers based in Mexico. They would be allowed to use a maximum of 1,000 vehicles under the pilot program.
The Bush administration wanted to start a pilot program this year that would run for a year before fully opening the border to Mexican trucks.
The House bill, however, specifies criteria for the pilot program before it can start, including setting up an independent panel to evaluate the test program and getting certification from the inspector general that safety and inspection requirements have been met.
Rafael Laveaga, communication director at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, said the House vote raises questions about members’ commitment to NAFTA, a free-trade agreement binding the two countries and Canada.
The Transportation Department says it could be as late as 2008 before Congress’s criteria are met, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Lawmakers said their major concern is whether Mexican trucks, often older than U.S. cargo vehicles, and Mexican drivers will be able to meet rigorous U.S. safety standards.
American trucking companies have spent years getting their vehicles up to those standards, lawmakers said. Letting Mexican trucks across the border without making them meet those standards is wrong, they said.
