Posted on 03/12/2009 9:38:08 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration will try to reinvent a program to allow Mexican trucks full access to U.S. highways.
An 18-month pilot program that allowed a few Mexican trucks beyond a border buffer zone died when President Barack Obama signed a $410 billion spending bill yesterday. The bill barred spending on the program.
Debbie Mesloh, a spokeswoman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, said Obama has told the office to work with Congress, the Transportation and State departments and Mexican officials to come up with legislation to create “a new trucking project that will meet the legitimate concerns” of Congress and U.S. commitments under the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The United States prohibits most Mexican trucks from driving past a narrow zone beyond the southern border, ranging from 20 miles in most cases to 75 miles in Arizona. Canadian trucks have no limits on where they can go.
(Excerpt) Read more at 3.signonsandiego.com ...
Hmmm... I wonder if the Teamsters had anyone’s ear when this was bantered about.
Any blue-collar trucker types who voted for the Obamanation and swallowed the Democrat cool-aid have only themselves to blame.
I doubt if there were many though.
Why?
Do American trucks have (safe) access to Mexican highways?
Amateurs like Obama need to remember the old adage “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!”.
Thank God! /s
More jobs for Mexican nationals on U.S. soil. Less jobs for U.S. nationals on U.S. soil.
What a relief! /s
This is going to make this recession situation turn around over night. /s
Okay, it was the Teamsters AND the environmentalists who had Obama's ear.
I think your ‘/s’ key is stuck. ;-)
LOL, I think I could cut down on keystrokes by a healthy percentage if I just programed one of my FKeys properly. Well, at least on some of these sarcastic posts...
Amateurs like Obama need to remember the old adage “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!”.
New Marxists like Obama believe that “if it ain’t broke the job ain’t finished.”
Didn’t think so.
If US trucks can’t travel safely in Mexico, Mexican trucks have no business operating on US highways.
Just drop the trailers at the US Customs lot and the American trucker can pick it up as soon as US Customs, the FDA, USDA, etc., is done with it.
And yet the union thuggery will continue to worship this kenyan klown and his poseur posse as he destroys the base of what the unions used to work to preserve.
Maybe you can clear something up about this for me.
When and if the Mexican trucks come in, will they only be
allowed to deliver their load and then pick something up
to go back to Mexico? Or will they be allowed to haul
other loads accross country and put our truckers out?
I’ve heard both ways. I use to drive an 18 wheeler and still have many friends that are truckers.
As of about a year ago a driver from Canada or Mexico could enter (with restrictions) to drop a load and take a load back but couldn’t start moving loads around the country.
My mother was pushed into early retirement about a year ago.
I look at new programs like this as a ‘first step’.
Whether they initially force dead-heading* or not, I doubt dead-heading* will continue. At some point some advocacy group will demand that Mexican trucks be allowed to carry product on return trips. And you can expect those return trips eventually to include a route home that goes from New York, to Seattle, to San Antonio.
This is the beginning of the end of U.S. trucking IMO.
*I may be using the term dead-heading improperly. My understanding is that entails a truck remaining empty on a return trip, as opposed to carrying product on that return trip, to help make the trip more profitable.
Foreign drivers can bring a load and take one back. Anything beyond that is called “Cabotage”.
Its ok, we’ll rebuild the roads each trip after they have scraped the concrete off dragging their bumpers, new job program..
More on Mexican Trucking Ping!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.