DOT delays Mexican truck entry

DOT delays Mexican truck entry

	Published : Tue, 01 May 2007 00:58 By : Agencies Print this Story

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Transportation Department bowed to congressional pressure Monday and said it would allow more public scrutiny of a proposed demonstration project that would permit Mexican-based trucking companies to operate throughout the United States.

The department said it would publish details of the program in the Federal Register, a regulatory publication, May 1 and accept comment for 30 days.

Members of the House and Senate, as well as several labor and environmental groups, had urged the department to provide more public notice about the program. The Teamsters Union, The Sierra Club, Public Citizen and the Environmental Law Foundation filed suit in a federal court last week to block the project from going forward, citing safety and environmental concerns.

Democrats in Congress said Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters had effectively chosen to postpone the implementation of the project with Monday's announcement.

'This delay will provide Congress with an opportunity to evaluate the proposal and its impacts on safety and on commerce,' said Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn. 'I continue to be highly concerned about the preparedness of Mexican trucking companies and their drivers to abide by the same strict standards that apply to U.S. motor carrier operations.'

Peters did not mention a delay in her statement Monday. Instead, she said the program will give U.S. truckers 'an unprecedented opportunity' because U.S. trucks will be able to operate in Mexico at the same time that Mexican trucks are allowed to operate in the United States.

Previously, U.S. trucks weren't scheduled to enter Mexico until six months after Mexican trucks were given access to the United States.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called the earlier entry time for U.S. trucks 'good news' that will are store fairness to this important program.'

When the project was first announced in February, Peters said that Mexican trucks could enter the United States by late April. While the department has not said when the program will begin, it will likely be sometime after the 30-day comment period announced Monday.

Jim Hoffa, president of the Teamsters, criticized the administration for 'continuing to put the traveling public at risk by going forward with this reckless pilot project.'

The program is the latest attempt by the Bush administration to resolve the long-running dispute over Mexican trucks in the United States. Under the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, the United States was required to gradually lift its ban on Mexican trucks, but the Clinton administration delayed implementing that part of the agreement. The issue has been tied up in litigation since then.

Currently, Mexican trucks are allowed to enter a restricted zone in the United States, near the Mexican border, where they have to unload their cargo. It is then picked up by U.S. trucks, a process that Peters has said 'is a waste of time, energy and money.'

Under the pilot program, which will involve up to 100 trucking companies from each side, Mexican trucks will have to pass safety inspections by U.S. inspectors, obtain insurance from a U.S.-licensed firm and demonstrate they can understand questions and directions in English, among other requirements, before operating in the United States.