These Mexis can't do interstate hauling. International only. This would put serious limitations on their profitability because the further away from the border they get, the harder it would be to find a backhaul and without a backhaul, there is no profit.
To solve this problem, the Mexis had to develop relationships with US trucking firms. In other words, US trucking companies have bought into Mexican trucking companies. Usually at the 50% level. Although I don't know any specifics, it is likely that some Mexican trucking companies have bought into US companies.
And this is part of the rub. These US companies that made the investment in contemplation of phase-in of NAFTA trucking regs were denied the chance to make a profit on that investment. But the Teamsters benefitted.
This whole thing is just another pile of dog doo that Clinton left behind for Bush to clean-up.
http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usassi/ssipubs/pubs2002/21cntury/21cntury.pdf
. . . I think we shortchange ourselves in our own hemisphere from not paying more attention beyond the Free Trade Area of the Americas, which obviously is very important.1
Rep. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)We seek not just neighbors but strong partners. We seek not just progress but shared prosperity. With persistence and courage, we shaped the last century into an American century. With leadership and commitment, this can be the century of the Americas…. Should I become president, I will look south, not as an afterthought, but as a fundamental commitment to my presidency.2
Gov. George W. Bush (R-TX)Introduction and Significant Trends.
Each century there are few opportunities for a major power—such as the United States—to make a monumental change in grand strategy for an important region of the world. Today, the nation states of the Western Hemisphere possess a fleeting moment to create a new community. Regionalism is on the rise around the world and in the Americas, and with it comes new ways of interacting economically, politically, socially, and militarily. States devote considerable thought and planning to economic issues, particularly trade, but precious little has been devoted to the security cooperation imperative that arises from these other integration areas.