IV
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. RES. 602
Supporting the policy announced by the Secretary of Transportation to delay
implementation of the provisions of the North American Free Trade
Agreement that allow access for Mexican trucks to all United States
roads as of 2000, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 28, 2000
Mr. BROWN of Ohio (for himself, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. OBEY, Mr. BORSKI, Ms.
PELOSI, Mr. LIPINSKI, and Ms. KAPTUR) submitted the following resolu-
tion; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in
addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and
International Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within
the jurisidiction of the committee concerned
RESOLUTION
Supporting the policy announced by the Secretary of Trans-
portation to delay implementation of the provisions of
the North American Free Trade Agreement that allow
access for Mexican trucks to all United States roads
as of 2000, and for other purposes.
Whereas the North American Free Trade Agreement provides
that a person of Mexico will be permitted to obtain oper-
ating authority for cross-border truck services to and
from border States beginning December 18, 1995, and
for such services throughout the United States beginning
January 1, 2000;
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Whereas the Secretary of Transportation, citing safety con-
cerns, has delayed implementation of these provisions and
has continued to enforce provisions of chapter 139 of title
49, United States Code, that limit operation of the vast
majority of Mexican trucks to commercial zones along the
United States-Mexico border;
Whereas on September 22, 1998, the Government of Mexico
filed a complaint with an arbitral panel under the North
American Free Trade Agreement to protest this delay,
and the arbitral panel is expected to rule on the com-
plaint in September 2000;
Whereas in a December 1998 audit, the Department of
Transportation Inspector General found that 44 percent
of Mexican trucks inspected at the United States border
had significant problems that required the trucks to be
removed from service, such as brake or tire failures, in
comparison to 25 percent of United States trucks in-
spected;
Whereas in a November 1999 audit, the Department of
Transportation Inspector General found that Mexican-
based motor carriers have been illegally operating trucks
on United States roads, including approximately 130
such carriers illegally operating beyond the border States
and approximately 505 such carriers illegally operating
beyond the commercial zones along the United States
border;
Whereas the growing flow of Mexican-made goods entering
the United States under the North American Free Trade
Agreement has dramatically increased the number of
trucks entering the United States to approximately
4,000,000 annually;
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Whereas in 1998 only slightly more than 1.6 percent of the
trucks entering the United States were inspected, of
which only about 24,000 were Mexican trucks;
Whereas in 1998 approximately 1⁄3 of the 4,000,000 trucks
crossing the United States-Mexico border into the United
States crossed at Laredo, Texas, and that year only
1,249 Mexican trucks were inspected there;
Whereas the United States has a national commercial driver
license information system to detect trucking violations,
but Mexico has no such system;
Whereas a United States truck driver may operate multi-
trailer trucks or haul hazardous materials only if cer-
tified, but a Mexican truck driver does not need any spe-
cific certification or endorsement for these activities;
Whereas to maintain a United States truck driver license, a
person must have attained 21 years of age, drive no
longer than 10 hours each shift, keep a log of hours
worked, pass a knowledge and skills test, and have reg-
ular health exams and a separate medical card;
Whereas to maintain a Mexican truck driver license, a person
must have attained only 18 years of age, may drive an
unlimited number of hours each shift, and need not keep
a log of hours worked, pass a knowledge and skills test
or health exam, or have a separate medical card; and
Whereas the Government of Mexico has improved standards
of safety, environmental protection, and driver com-
petency, licensing, and hours of service since the signing
of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but has
not yet implemented standards equivalent to those that
apply to United States trucks on United States roads:
Now, therefore, be it
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Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) supports the policy announced by the Sec-
retary of Transportation on December 18, 1995, to
delay implementation of certain provisions of the
North American Free Trade Agreement that allow
increased access for Mexican trucks to United States
roads;
(2) recognizes the existence of compelling data
reported by the Department of Transportation In-
spector General regarding the danger posed on both
sides of the United States-Mexico border by unsafe
Mexican trucks, based on—
(A) the high inspection failure rate of
Mexican trucks at the border;
(B) the lack of comprehensive border truck
inspection; and
(C) the unresolved differences in the truck
driver license requirements of the United States
and Mexico;
(3) disapproves of the action by the Mexican
government to formally challenge before an arbitral
panel under the North American Free Trade Agree-
ment the delay by the United States in imple-
menting the open border trucking provisions of the
North American Free Trade Agreement, based on
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the careful documentation by the United States of
the unresolved safety problems that necessitate the
delay;
(4) calls on the Governments of Mexico and the
United States—
(A) to agree to uniform application to
United States and Mexican trucks and drivers
of the highest standards regarding safety, envi-
ronmental protection, and driver competency, li-
censing, and hours of service;
(B) to improve truck inspection programs
and increase the number of trucks inspected;
and
(C) to consider road and truck safety to be
of paramount importance to the relationship be-
tween the United States and Mexico; and
(5) calls on the President to refuse access to
United States roads outside the commercial zones
along the United States-Mexico border to Mexican
trucks that are currently restricted to these zones,
regardless of the ruling by the arbitral panel, until
the Department of Transportation Inspector General
has certified that—
(A) Mexican trucks and drivers are com-
plying with standards of safety, environmental
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protection, and driver competency, licensing,
and hours of service equivalent to standards
that apply to United States trucks on United
States roads; and
(B) Mexican trucks inspected on entering
the United States are passing inspection in the
same percentage as Canadian trucks inspected
on entering the United States.
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