Mexican Run
So how long will it be before Obama is accused of being racist?
Buried in the $410 billion catch-all appropriations bill now before the U.S. Senate is a provision that would end a program that has allowed Mexican truck drivers to deliver goods to destinations inside the United States.
A provision in the original North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994 was supposed to allow U.S. and Mexican trucking companies to deliver goods in each other’s country. But opposition from the Teamsters union and old-fashioned prejudice against Mexicans has derailed implementation of the provision.
Under current restrictions, goods coming into the United States from Mexico by truck must be unloaded inside the “commercial zone” within 20 miles or so of either side of the border and transferred to U.S.-owned trucks for final delivery. U.S. goods going to Mexico face the same inefficient and unnecessary restrictions.
The Bush administration established a pilot program that allows certain Mexican trucking companies that meet U.S. safety and other standards to deliver goods directly to U.S. destinations, while the Mexican government has agreed to allow reciprocal access to its market. But the Democratic Congress and the new Democratic president have vowed to finally kill the program, and the provision inside the appropriations bill will probably deliver the final blow.
Griswold adds:
As I argued in an article in 2007, the Mexican trucks that have been allowed to operate in the United States under the pilot program have actually had a better safety record than U.S. trucks.
As I noted in the article, and it still applies today: “The real objection they have to Mexican trucks making deliveries to U.S. cities is not that they are unsafe, but that those trucks are driven by Mexicans. In the eyes of congressional leaders, ‘driving while Mexican’ remains an unacceptable public hazard.”
Well, I think that’s debateable. This more likely has to do with Obama’s protectionist leanings than anything else. But it does put to the test the claim that everything Obama does will make him the Most Liberal Socialist President Ever.
Comments
Stimulus bill also blocks companies from hiring foreigners for high-level positions. Nice.
Obama has a lot of cock to suck before he pays off getting elected.
As for being a racist, I think his wife and preacher have already shown that it is more than likely…
Odd, we don’t block canadians… even thoes who were not canadians to begin with…
Actually, organizations such as OOIDA, AAA, and the Teamsters have repeatedly proven that Mexican trucks do not have as good a safety record as US trucks. DOT inspections on Mexican owned trucks reflect this sad fact. Most Mexican trucks do not meet most US emission and safety standards.
In addition to that, it is impossible to get an accurate background check on Mexican drivers due to the antiquated licensing and record keeping systems used in Mexico. Even the company that FMCSA hired to do background checks on the Mexican drivers in the pilot program admitted that it is an impossible task. There is no centralized database, or standardized means of accessing different databases, for criminal records. This means that US drivers have to undergo a more rigorous and costly background check in order to carry hazmat than Mexican drivers would have to go through.
There is no requirement in the program for the Mexican drivers to read, speak, and understand English. Mexico has also refused to allow US drivers the same option of driving and delivering in Mexico.
And last but not least: pay. Truck drivers make precious little as it stands now. By allowing Mexican drivers who will work for far less per mile than US drivers unfettered access to loads inside the US, you will drive down milage pay for US drivers. This will put many US drivers out of business. Considering that approx. 80% of all trucking in the US is done by companies that own fewer than 5 trucks, you would be putting an awful lot of Americans out of work and out of business.
Is Obama kowtowing to the unions? Probably. But in this case he’s also right, for a variety of reasons, in stopping the program.
Agree with Seattle Outcast
Obama has nothing more to prove, we know who he is and what he stands for.
Obama lied, the economy died !
Considering that most of what is currently trucked should be shipped by rail, and that you average US truck is about as poorly maintained as anything from Mexico, I’m not exactly seeing a big need to look out for the Teamster’s Union....
Can we get a non-union source on the relative safety of union/Mexican trucking?
Based on a variety of investigative reports over the years concerning American trucks and truck drivers, approximately 50% - 75% of all truck on the road at any given time have brakes or tires in need of immediate maintenance/replacement, about half or more are taking some form of meth, and nearly all of them are exceeding the maximum number of hours/miles to be driven in a set time period.
Also, last time I checked, the entire trucking industry was being taken over by immigrants anyway - typically Mexican or Indian - as Americans no longer saw trucking as a viable career choice.
The reason we entered into this agreement in the first place was because American drivers could no longer meet the demand. Of course, the teamsters are still fighting to keep everything off the rail lines and attempting to revitalize the industry with lots of overpaid drivers, but it’s a lost cause.
Its the beginning of the new protectionsim. Can you say Smoot_Hawley? We are doomed.
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How does kowtowing to unions “put to the test the claim that everything Obama does will make him the Most Liberal Socialist President Ever?”