Before the federal government opens wide our borders to Mexican trucks, Congress must take swift action to ensure that Americans will be safe on U.S. highways. In short, Congress must pass a new law to guarantee that every foreign truck entering our country meets our truck-safety standards.

Although the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) called for free truck passage between the United States and Mexico, the Clinton administration had wisely delayed opening the borders and had limited Mexican motor carriers to designated commercial zones in the four border states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The Clinton administration, which supported NAFTA, took that action out of concerns about safety.

This month, however, a NAFTA trade-dispute panel—which is neither elected nor accountable to U.S. taxpayers—declared that the current U.S. ban on Mexican trucks violated the treaty's provisions. At the moment, it appears that the Bush administration, hypnotized by the mantra of "free trade," will not act to fill its foremost constitutional duty of safeguarding Americans.

When it was written, NAFTA should have only allowed for the free flow of goods and left the carriage of those goods to domestic truckers on each side of the border. Too much disparity exists between the two countries when it comes to truck safety standards and legal enforcement. In fact, the group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, which analyzed Mexican truck safety rules, has charged that violations that idle a U.S. truck result in only a ticket in Mexico.

Since motor carrier deregulation in the 1980s, the federal government has embarked on a national policy of strict enforcement of truck safety rules in an attempt to reduce deadly highway accidents. As part of that effort, Congress created the commercial drivers license requirement to remove "truck cowboys" from the highway. Although a memo of understanding between us and Mexico requires mutual recognition of each other's commercial drivers licenses, that paper doesn't mean much without enforcement. U.S. motor carriers, by and large, are more strictly regulated than are their Mexican counterparts—particularly that nation's independent truckers, which carry most its freight.

The gap in safety laws and enforcement creates the potential for accidents, hazmat spills, and possible truck-related fatalities. Although the NAFTA panel has threatened to impose fines on the United States for its failure to allow Mexican trucks across the border, it raises the issue: How much is the life of an American citizen worth?

If Mexican trucks are granted unfettered access to U.S. highways, then they must meet the same requirements that American motor carriers do. The Transportation Department's inspector general, however, has said that only 1 percent of the 3.7 million Mexican trucks crossing the border are carefully checked due to a shortage of U.S. inspectors. Rep. William Lipinski of Illinois is reportedly preparing legislation to correct that situation. His bill would mandate border inspections of foreign trucks to ensure compliance with our laws. It also would allow border states to impose and collect fees to cover those inspection costs.

The NAFTA provision allowing Mexican truckers into this country was a big mistake. Congress shouldn't compound its original mistake by failing to impose U.S. truck-safety requirements on Mexican motor carriers. If President Bush won't show leadership in this regard, then the House and Senate must act in concert before there are any "free trade" casualties on our highways.