End of the road for cross-border trucking program
The U.S. Senate is close to passing new spending bill that would effectively end the controversial cross-border trucking program that allows a select number of Mexican carriers into the country, according to the Washington Post. The bill passed the House of Representatives last week and is currently being debated in the Senate.
According to the U.S. DOT, since 1982 trucks from Mexico have been able to drive in a 25-mile commercial zone along the U.S. border, but cargo destined beyond that point must be off-loaded and transferred. The cross-border program, which went into effect in September 2007, allows up to 100 Mexican carriers to operate beyond the U.S. border commercial zones and up to 100 U.S. carriers to operate throughout Mexico.
However, as of August 2008, only 27 Mexican carriers with 107 trucks were operating in the U.S. and 10 U.S. carriers with 55 trucks were operating in Mexico. Language in the new appropriations bill, introduced by Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, (D-ND) would cut off all funding for the program.
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