The Obama administration is close to finalizing a plan to resolve the dispute over the U.S.-Mexican cross border trucking program, Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told a recent hearing of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee.
He said the reason the plan was taking so long was because of the need for coordination within the administration. The plan reportedly will involve jurisdictions of as many as five different Cabinet officials.
Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, cross-border trucking between the United States and Mexico was to be phased in beginning in 1995. However, Congress has blocked the provision from going forward, citing alleged safety concerns about Mexican trucks on U.S. roads. In March 2009, Mexico increased duties on $2.4 billion of U.S. products in retaliation for the ban by Congress of appropriations for a cross-border Mexican trucking pilot program.
Since then the Obama administration has been seeking a solution that will be acceptable to both Congress and Mexico . LaHood is leading that effort, which resulted in the development of a set of "principles" last year.
