The Supreme Court will decide January 10 whether or not to hear a petition to overturn the Obama administration’s pilot program for long-distance trucking across the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is asking the court to overturn a lower court’s decision that upheld the program.

In that decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected a petition by OOIDA and the Teamsters Union to declare the program illegal.

OOIDA and the Teamsters have been fighting the border opening since it was included in the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994.

The current pilot program permits Mexican carriers that have met safety standards set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to provide long-distance service to and from the U.S. It is designed to prove that the agency’s standards will ensure safe operation by Mexican carriers.

There are 14 Mexican carriers with either permanent or provisional authority in the program.

The appeals court rejected OOIDA’s contention that the program’s licensing, medical and drug test requirements are inadequate.

The Supreme Court Justices have scheduled a conference on January 10 to vote on the OOIDA petition, among others.