The Supreme Court ruled today that the Bush administration can skip a lengthy environmental study and open U.S. roadways to Mexican trucks.

The high court ruled against labor and environmental organizations that have long fought expansion of Mexican trucking within the borders of the United States despite a guarantee this country made when it signed the North American Free Trade Agreement more than a decade ago.
As a practical matter, Monday's ruling may mean little, according to the Associated Press. The Bush administration had already begun the court-ordered study and is expected to complete it soon. The study could only delay, not prevent, the border opening, and the White House had already said that it would let the trucks roll as soon as it was free to do so.
President Bush ordered the opening of all U.S. roads to Mexican trucks in 2002, but the dispute has been tied up in courts.
NAFTA allowed Mexican trucks to eventually use a large portion of U.S. roads. Mexican trucks are limited now to commercial border zones, forcing long lines at border crossings.
The ruling ends a challenge from the consumer group Public Citizen, the Teamsters union and others who had sued on safety and environmental grounds. The opponents argued that Mexican trucks are typically older and more polluting than American trucks.
Bill Graves, president and CEO of American Trucking Assns.(ATA), said today's decision, "represents another important step in the continued growth of the American economy and the trucking industry. By upholding actions taken by President Bush and the U.S. Department of Transportation in support of NAFTA, the Supreme Court has opened the door for the continued improvement of the North American freight transportation system, which will help increase trade between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in a safe, efficient and seamless manner."