Unions, Safety Groups Oppose Mexican Trucks on US Roads

By Greg Flakus
Houston, Texas
27 February 2007

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Last week, the Bush administration announced a plan to send U.S. inspectors to check trucks in Mexico that would then be allowed to cross over the border and deliver loads anywhere in the United States. This would be a pilot program, but the eventual goal is to open the border to more such traffic as called for by the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. The Teamsters Union and highway safety groups in the United States are among those opposing the plan. VOA's Greg Flakus has more from Houston.

Allowing Mexican trucks to travel across the border and to all parts of the United States sounds like a great idea to Sarah Sanchez. The interim executive director of San Antonio's Free Trade Alliance says her city, which sits a little over 200 kilometers from the border, would benefit greatly by becoming a logistical hub for U.S.-Mexico trade.

But what might be good for San Antonio's business leaders may not be good for the rest of the country and could pose a threat to motorists on U.S. highways, according to the Teamsters Union. The president of that labor organization, which represents most U.S. truckers, Jim Hoffa, says the administration's plan amounts to a "game of Russian roulette on America's highways."