Mexican trucks will begin shipping long-haul freight far into U.S. territory in a few weeks. Mexico’s Economy Secretary Bruno Ferrari is hopeful that by the end of August or early September the first company can enter with full rights. That first company – based in Monterrey – will be joined later by another 20 companies that requested the right to transport cargo on U.S. roads before Washington barred access to Mexican trucks in 1995. The additional trucking companies could begin U.S. shipments by the end of this year.
Ferrari is optimistic about the Cross Border Freight Truck Program. He points out that trucks transport roughly 275-billion dollars worth of annual cargo between the two countries – or 70-percent of the total.
A pilot program – established in 2007 to allow Mexican trucks greater access – was cancelled two years ago. The Mexican government responded by slapping punitive tariffs on 2.3-billion dollars of U.S. products. After an agreement was signed – those tariffs were partly suspended and are to be removed completely once the first Mexican truckers are allowed into the U.S. interior.
Source: NAFB News Service
Posted by Haylie Shipp
