Mexican Truckers Want To Suspend Pilot Program In US, Mexico

MEXICO CITY,D.F.(AP) – The private organization that represents most of Mexico’s freight haulers is demanding that the Mexican government suspend a pilot cross-border trucking program.

The group Canacar says Mexican truckers are at a competitive disadvantage to their U.S. counterparts. Canacar President Tirso Martinez says the one-year pilot program is destined to fail. He says Mexico’s Transportation Department hasn’t resolved traffic bottlenecks for Mexican trucks trying to cross the U.S. border.

He adds that the department lacks the personnel to enforce a provision prohibiting U.S. truckers from carrying domestic Mexican cargo, among other issues. The protest comes two days after the U.S. Senate approved a proposal by North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan to prohibit the U.S. Transportation Department from spending money on the program.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a similar provision to Dorgan’s in July as part of its version of the transportation spending bill. The Teamsters Union has participated in protests against the program at the U.S.-Mexico border. The union contends that Mexican trucks are not safe for U.S. highways.

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