Free Trade Truckers

The debate over foreign imports and the dangers of imported lead paint, illegal antibiotics, and other pollutants have generated much public debate over the last year. Yet in the midst of concerns about low foreign safety standards among products from developing countries such as China, India, and Mexico, the Bush Administration has decided to implement a year-long pilot program that allows the Mexican trucking industry to permeate the United States. Given that Mexican-manufactured trucks are generally considered less reliable than American trucks, skeptics are worried that the influx of foreign drivers will create uncontrolled safety risks on America’s roads. Others worry that the open borders policy will undermine national sovereignty.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OIDDA) members and several Congressmen who have criticized the pilot program gathered at a September 6 press conference in opposition of what they termed the Administration’s “stealth program.” According to the speakers, the influx of Mexican drivers has been permitted in the face of inconsistent safety standards and inadequate government enforcement mechanisms. On September 7, Teamster members organized along the border, protesting the Mexican influx. “If the Bush administration succeeds. . .American drivers and their families will be forced to share the roads with unsafe, uninsured trucks and millions of good-paying American jobs will be lost,” wrote Teamster President Jim Hoffa.

However, these groups’ dire predictions may be overly pessimistic. Mexican truckers have been regularly operating within border commercial zones in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas for the last 25 years, and prior to 1982, Mexican truckers had been allowed to travel throughout the United States. According to the Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, the DOT has “years of experience, we have a rigorous safety inspection plan in place and we have the facilities and the trained professionals to carry it out.” In addition, the DOT asserts that the number of Mexican truckers who have been removed from American roads due to safety violations has dropped from 59 percent to 21 percent since the 1990’s, a rate comparable to the national average. An inspection of the Department of Transportation (DOT) website quickly reveals that the DOT has incorporated 22 Congressionally-mandated standards into its enforcement plan. According to the department, all Mexican drivers participating must obtain “a valid commercial drivers license, carry proof they are medically fit, comply with all U.S. hours-of-service rules and be able to understand questions and directions in English.” In addition, Mexican trucking companies must obtain U.S.-based insurance, so that any accidents can be resolved within the U.S. legal system.

Yet critics remain skeptical that these comprehensive safety measures will actually be enforced. Congressman Steve Kagan (D-Wisconsin) argued at the OIDDA press conference that U.S. border agents would not be able to verify Mexican truckers’ driving schedules before crossing the border; Mexican drivers could surreptitiously work as long as 20 hours before meeting U.S. limits. In addition, drug testing at the border may be inadequate because it is predictable—Mexican truckers need only ensure compliance while at the border. The February 2007 DOT article, “Cross Border Truck Safety Inspection Program,” states that the DOT “has developed a plan to” meet Congressional safety mandates, thereby indicating that implementation remains theoretical. For example, the website notes that the DOT has developed a plan to “study needed staffing along the border.” In other words, the DOT has developed a plan to assess the need for a plan—during this processing time, Mexican truckers will continue traveling throughout the United States.

Despite the potential problems, Secretary Peters optimistically asserted at a February news conference that the pilot program finally fulfills the U.S. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) requirements, and that it will bring “U.S. drivers more opportunity, U.S. consumers more buying power, and the U.S. economy even more momentum.” But the program could carry a deeper, hidden price. Integral to the program’s ultimate success is the expansion of the so-called “NAFTA Highway,” a ten-lane international highway which would enhance the ability of Canadian, Mexican, and American truckers to freely travel between their respective countries.

Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) argues that “the proposed highway is part of a broader plan advanced by a quasi-government organization called the ‘Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America,’ or SPP.” The SPP, in conjunction with American leaders, he argues, intends to undermine national sovereignty by creating “an integrated North American Union—complete with a currency, a cross-national bureaucracy, and virtually borderless travel within the Union.” In other words, the SPP promotes the creation of a North American European Union.

The administration’s appeal to NAFTA regulations—rather than Congressional law— to justify the pilot program could mark a decline in American sovereignty due to radical free trade. Currently, the pilot program only allows Mexican truckers to deliver foreign-made products. They are not allowed to transport American-based products within the United States. However, the program could be expanded over time to include a multinational trucking industry which operates within NAFTA countries. Coherent enforcement of the international trucking force would then necessitate either a set of complex treaty agreements, or a multinational oversight committee.

Bethany Stotts is a staff writer at Accuracy in Academia.