Truckers Identify Biggest Problems, Priorities Under NAFTA

By Toby B Gooley -- Logistics Management, 1/1/1998

More than any other mode of transportation, the trucking industry stands to benefit from implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Despite cultural and legal differences, motor carriers throughout North America share many common interests and continue to cooperate on a number of NAFTA harmonization initiatives.

Although truckers have accomplished much, progress has been slow in some areas. To help bring their concerns to the three NAFTA governments, the North American Transportation Alliance (NATA), which includes the national trucking industry organizations of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, has identified the industries' biggest problems and priorities for change under NAFTA. By and large, their concerns center on improving cross-border operations and moving ahead with harmonization of safety and equipment standards.

At the top of their list is resolving the deadlock over access by U.S. and Mexican carriers to each other's border states. Although Mexican carriers say they are not yet ready to compete head-to-head with their U.S. counterparts, NATA is lobbying hard for the U.S. government to open the border.

NATA members also have agreed on seven principles to improve cross-border efficiency for motor carriers in all three countries. Carriers in the three nations say they want governments to take the following actions:

1. Improve coordination of U.S. government agencies such as U.S. Customs, the Department of Agriculture, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service for northbound shipments from Mexico;

2. Revise Mexican customs law to promote more efficient customs clearance, for example by eliminating the required stop for classification and entry on the U.S. side prior to entering Mexico;

3. Accelerate adoption of electronic pre-clearance systems, thereby alleviating costly bottlenecks at major ports of entry;

4. Harmonize and extend hours of operation for clearance at all border crossings, to accommodate increasing cross-border truck traffic;

5. Eliminate barriers that prevent two-way loaded drayage, which would significantly lower carriers' and shippers' costs and, some experts say, would reduce congestion by as much as 40 percent;

6. Provide adequate physical infrastructure to support growing cross-border trade; NATA says adequate investment in roads, bridges, and port of entry facilities is vital to support a safe and efficient flow of commerce; and

7. Standardize practices at each country's own border crossings so they are identical, eliminating confusing and unfair differences in data collection, crossing procedures, and hours of operation at different locations.

NATA's recommendations also urge further work toward harmonizing Commercial Drivers License (CDL) regimes, hazardous-materials transportation regulations, fuel quality and emissions standards, and truck sizes and weights.