MY ETT News » Border

O Canada! Rules change for border crossings

Rhonda Flathman — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:44:37 +0000

Crossing the U.S. border into Canada should get easier for less-than-truckload carriers with the introduction of an electronic manifest system, similar to what is already in place in the States. Currently, products from each shipper on an LTL haul must have their own bar code. But the new system will allow for the entire trailer to be assigned one bar code, speeding up the customs process. Once launched, carriers will have 18 months from that date to comply with the system. In the first 12 months, compliance is voluntary, but will become mandatory afterwards. Fleets can choose to use a software program or use a free portal to submit electronic manifests.

Canada to Introduce Electronic Manifest System Making LTL Border Crossings Easier
While the focus in recent years has been on the U.S.-Mexico border and the fight for free access to U.S. roadways for Mexican trucks, a significant change is occurring at America’s other border as well. And it’s a change that many smaller U.S.-based shippers and carriers may not be ready for.

U.S. carriers and shippers have been dealing with U.S. Customs’ e-manifest program for a number of years now, but starting this month, carriers and shippers will need to deal with a similar program when they return from Canada with loads.

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Mexican trucks: Consider the positives

Rhonda Flathman — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:11:42 +0000

While the recently-signed U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking agreement has divided the industry’s lobbying groups, one international trade expert is urging the positives of the deal. Troy Ryley, the managing director of Transplace Mexico, says the new agreement could be a boon for Texas as a distribution center for loads brought in by Mexican trucks, as well as it could help alleviate capacity issues in the Southwest. Additionally, Ryley sees the agreement as having a positive impact on truck sales, as Mexican carriers will be under greater scrutiny than their American counterparts.

Cross-Border Agreement Holds Positive Potential, Expert Says
While trucking lobbies opposed to the new U.S.-Mexico cross-border truck pilot program, have been more than vocal—even to the point of one having filed a federal suit against the bilateral agreement—there’s at least one expert on this segment of international trade who sees the deal struck by Mexico President Felipe Calderón and President Barack Obama in a clearly positive light.

For starters, Troy Ryley, managing director of Transplace Mexico, told FleetOwner that once Mexican carriers are enrolled in the pilot program, Texas “could become a center for distribution as Mexican trucks won’t be going far north unless they have backhauls secured, which will be difficult as Mexican carriers will not be allowed to carry U.S. domestic freight.” In addition, he said the presence of new terminal operations set up by Mexican carriers on the U.S. side of the border could help relieve some of the [freight] capacity issues in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Tucson and Albuquerque.”

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ATA, Farm Groups Welcome U.S.-Mexico Cross-Border Trucking Agreement

Rhonda Flathman — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:44:29 +0000

Even as some lobbying groups have voiced their criticism about the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking agreement, more and more have expressed their support. In addition to the American Trucking Assns. (ATA), several farm products groups were pleased that lifting the retaliatory tariffs as part of the agreement could help boost exports. Both the American Frozen Food Institute and the International Dairy Foods Association said the agreement will help make up lost jobs and lost revenue because of the excessive tariffs placed on American agricultural products.

American Trucking Associations and several agricultural organizations said they welcomed the cross-border trucking agreement signed between the United States and Mexico on Wednesday.

ATA President Bill Graves said the group “welcomes this latest step in improving the efficiency of trucking and trade at our southern border. By signing this historic agreement, the U.S. and Mexico have laid the groundwork for continued economic growth on both sides of the border.”

He added that “Mexican fleets participating in the program will be bound by the same rules and regulations applicable to American carriers, and we are pleased that the agreement allows for U.S. carriers to compete in Mexico.”

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OOIDA files suit to halt Mexican truck pilot program

Rhonda Flathman — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:15:29 +0000

It didn’t take long for the newly-signed cross-border trucking program between the U.S. and Mexico to hit a speed bump. Just hours after the top transportation officials for both countries inked the deal, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. (OOIDA) filed a suit to block it. Citing the “arbitrary” and “capricious” nature of the program, OOIDA questioned U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s circumspect visit to Mexico City to sign the agreement, as well as the seeming kowtowing in exchange for the retaliatory tariffs being lifted. The American Trucking Assns. (ATA) came out in support of the cross-border program, particularly hopeful of the economic development it promises to bring.

Cross-Border Trucking Agreement Draws Ire of OOIDA, Praise from ATA
Within hours of the announcement that the U.S. and Mexico had officially signed an agreement for a new cross-border trucking pilot program, opponents of the deal fired back, including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. (OOIDA), which filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington D.C. Circuit seeking to halt the program.

OOIDA is asking the court to “enjoin, set-aside, suspend (in whole or in part) or determine the validity of the implementation of this program.” Filed by the Cullen Law Firm of Washington, DC, on behalf of OOIDA, the petition states that the “implementation of the pilot program is arbitrary, capricious, and abuse of discretion, and otherwise not in accordance with law.”

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U.S., Mexico formalize cross-border trucking program

Rhonda Flathman — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:04:02 +0000

The U.S. and Mexico have finally made the cross-border trucking program official again. The top transportation leaders from both countries signed the agreement yesterday in Mexico City. Under the terms, Mexican trucks and drivers must comply with a litany of safety requirements. Drivers must submit to drug test and an English language assessment, for example. In return, Mexico agrees to lift a number of retaliatory tariffs it imposed on the U.S. when the previous cross-border trucking program was suspended in 2009. Then, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and other Obama administration officials met with lawmakers, safety advocates, industry representatives and others to address a broad range of concerns, which have been addressed in this new program.

U.S., Mexico Renew Cross-Border Trucking Program With New Safety Measures
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes Dionisio Arturo Pèrez-Jàcome Friscione on Wednesday, July 6, joined in Mexico City to sign agreements resolving the long-running dispute between the United States and Mexico over long-haul cross-border trucking services.

Under the agreements, Mexican trucks will be required to comply with all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and must have electronic monitoring systems to track hours-of-service compliance. In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation will review the complete driving record of each driver and require all drug testing samples to be analyzed in Department of Health and Human Services-certified laboratories located in the United States.

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Rep. DeFazio Cites Concerns on Mexican Truck Program

Rhonda Flathman — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:52:23 +0000

One Oregon congressman is challenging several points of the cross-border trucking program with Mexico, citing his concerns over safety and possible losses of American jobs. Other industry leaders are joining in Rep. Peter DeFazio’s (D-Ore.) concern. In response, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has detailed the steps it’s taking to ensure compliance with safety standards, such as multiple safety checks and drug testing. Such a move likely won’t quiet the most vocal of the program’s critics, the Teamsters union and the Owner-Operator Indpendent Drivers Association. But it was welcome news to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), who is encouraged that this will help businesses hurt by the retaliatory tariffs enforced when Mexican trucks were blocked from crossing the border.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) has sent a letter to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration asking the agency to address “serious concerns about the safety of Mexican trucks on U.S. roads and the potential loss of American jobs” related to the cross-border trucking program with Mexico.

The letter follows details released earlier this month by the Obama administration on its cross-border trucking pilot program with Mexico.

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FMCSA to Pay for EOBRs on Mexican Trucks

Rhonda Flathman — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:24:49 +0000

As part of the new cross-border agreement with Mexico, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will require all Mexican trucks entering the United States to be equipped with electronic onboard recorders. But what may draw some ire from those in the industry is that the FMSCA has agreed to pay for them. The announcement comes just weeks after the FMCSA announced a mandate that would require all U.S. carriers to be equipped with
EOBRs as well, but at their own expense. The move was in part to quell concerns over Mexican drivers’ hours of service and FMCSA would own and control all data gathered by the EOBRs used by the carriers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will require all Mexican trucks entering the United States to be equipped with electronic onboard recorders — and will pay for them, a Department of Transportation official said Wednesday.

The move was in part to quell concerns over Mexican drivers’ hours of service and FMCSA would own and control all data gathered by the EOBRs used by the carriers, said the DOT official, who asked not to be identified.

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Mex-Am border deal will not limit trucks

Rhonda Flathman — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:02:44 +0000

Unlike the Bush Administration’s truck pilot project with Mexico which capped the number of approved carriers at 100, the new border program between the two countries will allow an unlimited number of truckers to register. However, they will have to comply with a number of rules. For starters, participants must be fluent in English, be subject to frequent drug tests and meet higher safety requirements, such as their trucks being equipped with
electronic on-board recorders. The program will begin with provisional authorization of select carriers, followed by thorough screenings of cross-border truck traffic for three months that will taper off in the fourth month. Once the agreement is signed in June, Mexico will drop half of its retaliatory tariffs, which were implemented when the first pilot program was de-funded.

Mexico City – Unlike the former Mexican truck pilot project, the new cross-border transport pact between Mexico and the U.S. will not limit the number of Mexican truckers who will have full access to the American market.

According to CNN, Mexican officials unveiled several details of the recent agreement that ended a two-year trade war between the two NAFTA countries.

The Bush Administration’s “demonstration” program capped the number of approved carriers at 100, but Mexico’s Communications and Transportation Minister Dionisio Perez-Jacome told media this week that an unlimited number of truckers can register for cross-border transport.

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Swift reaction to U.S.-Mexico truck agreement

Rhonda Flathman — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:21:12 +0000

The recent announcement that the U.S. and Mexico had agreed on a border trucking program drew mixed reaction from industry groups. The American Trucking Associations expressed support for the move in the hope that it would increase trade between the two countries. But not everyone felt the move was a positive one. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters opposed the agreement, saying that it would ultimately threaten small businesses and puts American workers at risk.

U.S.-Mexico Border Trucking Agreement Draws Divided Reaction
The announcement that the U.S. and Mexico have reached agreement on a border trucking program garnered swift reaction among interested groups. Both the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. (OOIDA) issued strong statements opposing the deal, which was announced at a joint press conference at the White House yesterday by President Barack Obama and Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon.

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U.S. truckers like Can-Am border pact

Rhonda Flathman — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:28:06 +0000

Cross-border trading between the U.S. and Canada could get a little smoother thanks to efforts between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama. The two intend to streamline the flow of goods at the border, that would both help the two countries as well as their customers. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has lauded the move as a necessary and welcome move. ATA staff met with U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) Commissioner Alan Bersin to discuss ways to improve cross-border trucking operations.

ARLINGTON, Va., Stephen Harper and Barack Obama’s planned efforts to streamline the flow of goods at the Canada-U.S. border and cut red tape is being lauded by the American Trucking Associations.

“The trucking industry appreciates the efforts of President Obama and Prime Minister Harper to advance the cause of trade between the United States and Canada,” said ATA President Bill Graves. “This agreement is a positive first step to increasing the competitiveness of businesses on both sides of the border.”

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