At a trade summit meeting between the U.S. and Mexico in Texas yesterday, Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta reaffirmed the Bush administration’s desire to open the border to Mexican trucks. According toAssoicated Press, Mineta said, “President Bush has said he strongly believes that we can have safety on our highways without discriminating against our neighbor to the south.”
Mineta added that 23% of Mexican trucks entering California have failed inspections, a figure comparable with the failure rate shown by U.S. trucks.
The three-day summit is being held to discuss the 1994 NAFTA agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. President George W. Bush has stated that he wants to fully open the border to Mexican truckers by January 2001, but there is legislation in both the House of Representatives and Senate that would continue to restrict Mexican trucks to a 20-mile operating zone within the U.S.
The president has vowed to veto such legislation and Mexican President Vicente Fox has said he would reciprocate with a ban on American trucks unless Mexican truckers are allowed to operate in the U.S.
