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Cross-Border Trucking

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WHEREAS, at the urging of the Teamsters Union, Congress defunded the Bush-era Mexican Cross-Border Trucking Program in 2009 over safety concerns; and

WHEREAS, the Mexican Government retaliated for this action by placing tariffs on $2.4 billion worth of U.S. products exported to Mexico; and

WHEREAS, rather than challenging the tariffs as excessive, the United States Trade Representative, in an effort to eliminate the tariffs, has agreed to a new crossborder trucking program with Mexico, that will permit Mexican domiciled trucks to travel anywhere in the U.S. beyond the currently permitted commercial zones; and

WHEREAS, coupled with the unease about the ability of Mexican trucks and drivers to comply with all U.S. safety standards, there are additional fears surrounding the violence perpetrated by the Mexican drug cartels, the loss of thousands of additional American jobs during this severe recession, and the inability to protect our homeland security and our borders from the threat of terrorism should this program move forward; and

WHEREAS, safety issues include, but are not limited to, compliance and enforcement of hours-of-service regulations and drug and alcohol testing, the accuracy and completeness of Mexican driver violation records, and the equivalency of the U.S. Commercial Drivers License with the Mexican Licencia Federal; and

WHEREAS, additional U.S. driver jobs will be lost to Mexican drivers who violate our cabotage laws by delivering U.S. cargo point-to-point in the United States, because of insufficient training and enforcement by customs officials; and

WHEREAS, the Mexican drug cartels have been responsible for the brutal deaths of 35,000 Mexican citizens since 2006, and 111 American lives in 2010 alone, causing the U.S. State Department to issue travel warnings to U.S. citizens for large portions of Mexico, making it impossible to offer reciprocity to U.S. trucking firms, as required by the NAFTA and Public Law 110-28; and

WHEREAS, permitting Mexican long-haul trucking will only make it easier for the Mexican cartels to smuggle and distribute their illegal drugs into the U.S., as the trucking network is their preferred mode of transportation and will potentially import the violence perpetrated by the Mexican cartels across the border into the U.S.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Teamsters Union will continue to make its members and the public aware of the mounting danger of permitting unsafe trucks from Mexico to perform long-haul service anywhere in the U.S.; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Teamsters Union will call upon the Congress to delay the implementation of the NAFTA cross-border trucking provisions until such time that all Mexican trucks and drivers can meet all U.S. safety standards, that there is sufficient personnel to perform vehicle inspections, to enforce our laws and regulations, and to ensure compliance by Mexico-domiciled motor carriers; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Teamsters Union will insist that exemptions to our safety laws and regulations not be used to permit Mexico-domiciled motor carriers to enter the U.S. and that only the highest level of safety be maintained for the three NAFTA countries of Mexico, Canada and the United States.