Mexican Trucking in USA Means More Jobs for Others and Lower Wages for Americans.

In November 2002, the President ordered the opening of all US roads to Mexican trucks, a measure the US previously agreed to under the provisions of NAFTA. Environmental, labor, consumer and trucking organizations, however, opposed the opening of the border and called for the department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct an environmental assessment.

The Supreme Court rules unanimously that the Bush administration does not need to complete an environmental study before it opens U.S. borders to Mexican trucks, an element of the NAFTA trade agreement. The ruling removed the last legal hurdle to the plan, which has been fought by labor officials and environmentalists. President Bush can open the US highway network to Mexican trucks, bringing the US into compliance with a provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the court's opinion.

Monday's ruling allows the trucks to enter at any time. A White House spokesman declined to specify a date. The groups that brought the lawsuit estimated that 34,000 trucks from Mexico would be on US highways in the first year alone. By 2010, trucks from Mexico would likely emit twice as much of certain pollutants as US trucks, they said. Nonunion trucking companies such as Indianapolis-based Celadon Group will be able to employ lower-paid Mexican drivers to carry goods to and from the United States and will save the time and expense of transferring loads at the border.

U.S. truckers earn on average 34 cents a mile plus benefits, according to Celadon's chief executive officer, Stephen Russell. A Mexican driver in Mexico is paid about 14 cents a mile, he said. The Teamsters say the disparity is even greater -- $7 a day for Mexican truckers compared with more than $20 an hour for drivers employed by Yellow Roadway Corp., a unionized company that is also the nation's largest trucking business.

In 1999, 258 Members of Congress and 48 Senators wrote to President Clinton, urging him to keep the borders closed to Mexican trucking. Mexico challenged Clinton's refusal to open the border before a NAFTA panel, demanding that the U.S. open its highways to unlimited Mexican trucking. The decision announced last week is the result of that challenge. President �I love America� Bush had a different answer to the issue:

Can you guess what hand signal Bush gave to Congress?


www.caltradereport.com...
www.sfgate.com.../c/a/2004/06/08/MNG7D72K131.DTL
www.indystar.com...
www.indystar.com...

What is our society based on now? Economy. THats how they establish a NWO, by creating a world economy first. Look at all the trade organizations popping up, not to mention the WTO. When all of this unification of economy is complete, then they will be able to control us through other means. First step 1. Control their money; 2.??

If you want cheaper lettuce, this is a good thing.

cheaper transport means even more jobs are heading south the last place I worked shut down blaiming NAFTA for the reason to close .(. semitrailer manufacturing)...so this sucks even more

All I can say is remember when Ross Perot said a gaint sucking sound and everybody laughed, guess he was right.

I live next to the interstate. Now, not only do I have to contend with all the pollution from all the chemical plants close by, I now have to worry about all the pollution from these Mexican trucks.

Ever seen the average Mexican truck? LOL! Bad breaks, 20 years old, bald tires, no pollution control, pure junk.

The Mexican Government doesn't care about the enviroment. I can go down there and buy a new truck with no pollution control, a carb, and a points distributor. Just ask one of Mexico City's citizens about the smog problem there. Catalitic converter, what's that?

The powers that be claim the condition of Mexican trucks is getting better because the major companies south of the border are being forced to upgrade their fleets because of the restrictions imposed by the Texas Department of Public Saftey to allow their trucks into the state under NAFTA. This is pure political BS. There's no way the DPS can inspect all the trucks that are expected to enter the country under NAFTA. I doubt they have enough manpower to inspect 25 percent of them. What about the independent operators, 1 or 2 trucks? Who's going to help them or for that matter the large companies upgrade their junk to meet EPA requirements in this country? No one because they aren't required to meet the EPA standards.

I have to pay 39.50 a year to get my car inspected to drive on public roads. This test involves a strict emissions test that is roughly the same as California. Everything must be within state and federal air quality standards or it wont pass. These trucks can come over here now and blow out all the smoke they want with no restrictions.

I'm so sick of Bush kissing Fox's ass over this and other issues like south Texas water being diverted to Mexico and the illegal immagration problem. If we cant stop the illegal border crossings by people how are we going to stop all the dangerous trucks from doing the same?

Remember NAFTA was Clinton's baby. Its funny that unions are so fast to support democrats when it was a democrat that signed the most anti-American, anti-labor legislation in the history of this country.

Something else to consider is that someone I know who works for the Border Patrol, swears up and down that alot of the agents are quite upset due to the fact that only 1 out of 50 trucks coming north are being searched. He said it's a free pass for any individual or cartel that can fill a trailer with drugs.

Originally posted by cultureshock
He said it's a free pass for any individual or cartel that can fill a trailer with drugs.

Drugs or people. Its going to cause an explosion in the illegal immigrant community also. I doubt that the Mexican trucking companies are held to the same standards as US companies in regards to transporting goods. So expect that the goods may not have been handled properly when you recieve them either. NAFTA was a huge mistake in my opinion, it helped everyone involved except the US.

Actually it helped the same people that most every law in this country is passed for. The top 5% income earners. They ship the jobs outside the borders and make themselves a fatter profit. So they can buy an extra house or two, a bigger jet, another boat, etc. Its not enough having $250 million dollars in your personal bank account. You need $500 million after all :-)

Originally posted by Valhall
If you want cheaper lettuce, this is a good thing.

no offense but i dont give a whit about lettuce being cheaper by five cents a head.

if i want lettuce i'll grow it myself! seed packets are 99 cents!


i think this was a BAD idea on bush's part.

mexico wins AGAIN and america loses AGAIN.

bush and this mexico situation is wearing my nerves raw. NAFTA needs to be repealled, ignored, abolished...something! its bad for us and good for everyone else.

bush is not a very smart person. i never claimed he was but this really reenforces the suggestion that people have that he lacks a brain. they might actually be into something! (i knew this but i've been trying to give him a benefit of the doubt) i knew it was hard to keep from insulting the guy but jeez now i have a first hand account of how hard it really is!

You know what is funny is that I was going to vote for Bush the first time until I saw one of his own campaign commercials. The idiot made it perfectly clear who he represented... himself and big business. He certainly hasn't let me down on my interpretation of that commercial. He is a sell out. He is trying to buy every vote possible through legislation and promises of government spending in just about every market. Of course this dork has no idea how to pay for all this. Look how much the republicans are spending on this election. Looks like someone trying to buy it in my opinion. Only way to stop this is to make campain contributions illegal. They are bribes. Pure and simple. Of course he is going to allow trucks across the border. Why? Because of the money he is given.

in my days as a truck driver i ran across two of these mexican trucks, we all got pulled over at a weigh station. the mexican truck drivers did not have most of the proper paperwork or a log book, the trucks looked like they would fall apart and the guys at the weigh station just let them go, me on the other hand had to go through a complete inspection on a brand new truck...nice.

There are two items that I find troublesome:

1. The insurance requirements in Mexico are lenient which means a major accident would most often exceed policy limits leaving plaintiff holding the bag. Also suing a Mexican Trucking Co. would require it be filed in Federal Court where costs are much higher and the waiting period is 2-3 times longer then average state courts. And if you win a judgment � how do you collect? Can you get a Mexican Court to enforce the judgment? And how much does that cost in �bribery-free Mexico�? And this is the least of the problems.

2. It is expect that only 1 in 50 of the Mexican truck crossing the border will be inspected. What a wonderful way for terrorist to deliver nukes to all our major cities. Think I�m crazy? It will never happen? Well, just remember this as many as 50- 20 K devises are missing from the Soviet stock piles in one of those �Stans countries bordering Afghanistan.

And if its not nukes you can bet it will be something else.

I just do not understand what�s in the head of our President or how his mind works. He scares the hell out of me as a 5 yr. old with a loaded .38 Special with a hair trigger might.

IMHO

This one has me scratching my head. It makes no sense.

We will have Mexican truckers putting American truckers out of business. Cheaper gas,insurance,regulations and now they can cruise our freeways. This is also going to make things a lot harder for the INS. How the hell are they going to control the border,if they are just going to let them drive in.

Plus an open door for terrorism. I see no upside to the whole thing....just more problems.

It is expect that only 1 in 50 of the Mexican truck crossing the border will be inspected. What a wonderful way for terrorist to deliver nukes to all our major cities.

I didn't want to go there yet, but of course, heroin, crack and nukes.
Well, maybe not nukes, but weapons of all sorts for sure.


[edit on 10-6-2004 by cultureshock]

The DPS most likely will require the Mexican trucks to carry insurance because it is required by law here. However, that doesn't mean anything because there's no way to check all the trucks for insurance. Too many will be crossing the border each day. Half the drivers on the road dont have insurance here so why should these trucks be any different? Around here a policy with 'uninsured motorist coverage' is more or less required. Then the insurance company can fight them instead of you.

As far as the smuggling of weapons goes, it just opens another door, only another of many already opened. A sea port like the Port of Houston would be a good example here because they only check about 1 in 50 cargo containers. If they're going to get us, they'll do it. Nothing will stop them.

I have been following this for about 3 years now and have written several articals on other sites and I find it a suprise that people are just now catching on. First of all before you pass judgement read up on this it is not just a republican or democrat thing because they are equaly at fault. Does everyone not see that NAFTA is here Signed By Clinton and many other people who knew that americans would not go along with the scam. The problem is that they also knew that the Supream Court would rule against the american people just as it has. This is the first step to bust the unions in America, the first to be busted will be the Teamsters and the rest will soon fall and America will just sit back and point fingers of blame until it is to late to stop it. Wake up America.

I agree. I too have been following it from the debates in the Senate and thru the courts.

As you say this is not a party issue - both are the same corner. Nor will it do or help if we all wind up pointing fingers. Sure it was signed under Clinton but it was in the works for years before. Bush has 2 more sitting on his desk he plans to sign after the election.

When you say 'bust the unions' more folks don�t care too much. They don't understand that the wage rates set by the unions causes non-union wages to rise too.

The process to a life style much less then we have today is well on its way down the tubes and those wistful talk of the "good old days will take on a new, more meaningful significance����May go something like this, �Remember when we used to have meat for dinner 5 times a week?�

And I�m not kidding�����..we�re really cooked. And little can be done about that��.feta compli

I worry now about those other clowns who have cheap, somewhat dependable transportation to anywhere USA no questions asked.

You have a good understanding and you worded that well.
With my limited understanding of economics the only means to wich I see NAFTA or FTAA working the way the corporations would like it to is for Americas annual income to be cut in half. They need us to equalize wages with the lower income countries to make this whole plot work. The one thing that I do feel to be true is that America can not survive as a service society rather than a manufacturing society.