A stalemate over Mexican trucks appears to be over. Congressional leaders and the Bush administration have reportedly reached an agreement that would allow Mexican truck full access to the United States.

The plan is included in the current fiscal year’s transportation funding package, which has been long in Congress. The new fiscal year started on Oct. 1. Before that date the House and Senate passed separate versions of the spending plan. The House passed an outright ban on Mexican trucks by refusing to fund processing of Mexican trucking company applications for authority, while the Senate version called for tougher Mexican truck regulations. Both measures received the threat of a veto from President Bush, who earlier this year pledged to give Mexican trucks access to U.S. markets beyond the narrow commercial trading zone, as called for in the long-delayed provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement, at the border no later than Jan. 1.
Under the compromise announced Wednesday by Senators John McCain (R-Ariz) and Phil Gramm (R-Texas), the U.S. Transportation Department will conduct onsite safety inspections of half of all Mexican fleets wanting to operate in the U.S. The DOT will also verify all Mexican truck drivers’ licenses carrying high risk cargo into the country and half of all other Mexican truck driver’s licenses at the border. Weigh in motion scales will be placed at five U.S. border entry points immediately and at five more within a year, and Mexican trucks can enter the U.S. only at border crossings staffed with inspectors.
This plan softens requirements passed earlier by the Senate when it comes to inspections of Mexican carriers and weigh in motion equipment. However it toughens a Bush administration proposal that would have allowed Mexican carriers to operate in the U.S. for up to 18 months while their safety claims were verified, provided they were in compliance with this country’s safety standards.
The compromise is getting high marks from one group that has been the most vocal opponent of allowing Mexican trucks further access to the U.S. The Teamsters Union issued a statement this afternoon calling the deal a "victory for highway safety."
Since passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement the Teamsters have blasted the pact, saying its provisions over Mexican trucks put highway safety at risk by allowing poor equipment and drivers into the United States.
The American Trucking Associations, which has been for cross-border trucking, also praised the development. "This is great news for the American trucking industry and our ATA motor carriers," said William Canary, ATA President and CEO. "It gives us the open borders we need to freely do our job of moving freight and helping to rebuild the U.S. economy. It maintains the safety requirements that we have insisted on all along, that trucks entering the U.S. from Mexico must meet the same safety standards that we do."