Mexican trucks may gain access soon

Thursday, 27 June 2002

http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/20627MexicanTrucks.html
By Suzanne Gamboa
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON - Mexican trucks could start plying U.S. highways this summer as the Transportation Department completes safety enhancements required by Congress, says a department report obtained by The Associated Press.

Lawmakers ordered a number of safety checks to be in place before Mexican trucks could travel much beyond the Southwestern border, and a department inspector general's report says many of them are in place or will be in time to let the trucks on U.S. roads by midsummer.

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta "concluded that while the department still has some work to do, he fully expects to be in a position this summer to certify to the president that the border can be opened," says the report, which the AP got from outside the department. The department will present the findings to Congress today.

A $59.6 billion transportation spending bill that let the trucks travel deep into the country mandated that the inspector general certify that safety measures were in place and the transportation secretary signed off on the assessment.

Federal inspectors will be assigned to cover all but two crossings along the 2,000-mile border, the report said. Sasabe and Lukeville will be covered by state inspectors, it said.

Arizona plans to deploy up to 17 trained inspectors at six crossings, the report said.

In the last fiscal year, Nogales, had more than 250,000 truck crossings and was ranked as one of the top 10 busiest ports of entry, the report said.

The Inspector General's Office conducted tests at 25 commercial border crossings in the last two months to determine if there were adequate links to access the U.S. and Mexico's databases to verify such items as license plates, operating authority and insurance.

At the Naco, Ariz., crossing, federal inspectors were unable to access the databases because they did not have a password, which the government plans to assign by Sunday, the report said. State inspectors at the Lukeville and Sasabe crossings did not have access to any of the databases because telecommunication links were not installed, an issue that will be resolved by Sunday, it said.

Mexican trucks gained full access to U.S. roads beginning in 1995 under a provision in the North American Free Trade Agreement, signed by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

But Congress delayed their entry twice amid concerns about safety and from labor groups. An arbitration panel ruled the United States was violating NAFTA by refusing to comply with that provision, but it also allowed the country to impose safety measures.

President Bush pledged to comply with NAFTA, and Congress agreed after much debate last year. But it required that more inspectors be hired and full inspection sites be built at busy ports. It also required Mexico to limit truckers' driving hours and create a commercial driver's license database.

The report says more inspectors still need to be hired, more inspection sites need to be built, and federal and state inspectors still need reliable electronic access to Mexican and U.S. databases.

U.S. officials have said they do not expect Mexican long-haul carriers to flood across the border once it is declared open. Many will continue to operate within commercial border zones.

* Associated Press writer Jonathan Salant and Star reporter Jeannine Relly contributed to this story.

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