Mexico could retaliate if U.S. blocks trucks, Kolbe warns

By Gabriela Rico

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Economic retaliation from Mexico is a real threat if U.S. lawmakers repeal a provision that allows Mexican truckers access to the U.S. interior, according to former U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe.

"If Congress succeeds in blocking (the program) I believe Mexico could retaliate, as they are entitled to do," the Arizona Republican told members of the Southern Arizona Logistics Education Organization in Tucson on Thursday.

He warned that if our southern neighbors "lose patience," U.S. companies could face higher tariffs on trade entering Mexico.

"It's not an idle threat," Kolbe said. "And it sends a bad message to Mexico and Latin America about how seriously we take our obligations."

The trucking program, a provision of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, began in September. Before that, Mexican trucks were restricted to driving within a commercial border zone.

Attempts by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to block the entry of Mexican trucks into the U.S. failed. The Senate then approved a proposal prohibiting the Transportation Department from spending money on the program, but it continues while Congress debates a larger transportation bill that contains the provision.

Earlier this month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA, announced it would install satellite-tracking devices on trucks from the United States and Mexico to monitor them as they pick up and deliver loads — a decision made after members of Congress questioned participants' compliance with U.S. safety and trade laws, said Melissa Mazzella DeLaney, an FMCSA spokeswoman.