Twenty-three years after the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the opening to the free transit of Mexican trucks has not been given as had been thought; The United States failed to allow them entry. Free crossing is still only on paper, so a renegotiation of the agreement could bring about changes on this point.

Before the signing of the Treaty, there was the possibility that Mexican carriers request authorization to operate in the United States, however, in 1982 the Congress of that country imposed a moratorium on "authorizations, because both Mexico and Canada prevented access to US carriers. Once the corresponding negotiations were carried out, the results for Canada were positive, but not for Mexico.

In “the Treaty it was established that the moratorium would be lifted gradually; in the first phase, applications for cargo trucks and passenger buses to circulate in the United States would be accepted; in the second phase the access of these vehicles to the four border states would be authorized, and in a third phase they would be allowed access to the entire United States territory”, but it has not happened that way.

NAFTA provided for trucks coming from Mexican territory to travel within the United States beyond the 20-mile trade zone limit. However, in 2008, after 14 years of implementation, the House of Representatives of that country rejected a project that would study the feasibility of the measure. US lawmakers argued that the Mexican trucks did not meet the safety standards required in that country.

According to the investigation carried out by Salvador Medina Ramírez, published in the magazine Comercio Exterior, the trucking union (International Brotherhood of Teamster) requested the urgent suspension of the entry of Mexican trucks into the territory of the United States, alleging reasons of insecurity in their operation. On December 18, 1995, the indefinite suspension of the entry of cargo trucks was announced.

In 2008, the United States House of Representatives rejected the project that would study the viability of this measure. US lawmakers argued that the Mexican trucks did not meet the safety standards required in that country.

cross border agreement

Later, in July 2011, after more than 15 years of controversy, the governments of Mexico and the United States began to agree on the negotiations for the free transit of cross-border international freight transport. Both countries signed a memorandum of understanding, where it is established that the transport companies of Mexico and the United States will circulate permanently between both territories.

The Cross-Border Agreement involved three stages: first, it would be the application and internal review of the companies that wanted to participate. In the second stage, two reviews would be carried out within the operational stage where operations could be checked according to the established road safety regime. In the third stage, the final authorization would be given with the review of compliance and the final accreditation to the Mexican carriers so that they could travel on US highways.

Said Program was carried out between October 14, 2011 and October 10, 2014. In January 2015, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) delivered to Congress its Final Report on the Pilot Program for Cross-Border Trucking of Freight Long haul, Mexico-USA, while announcing that in the near future Mexican motor carriers could submit applications to enter the entire territory of that country. 15 Mexican companies participated in the Program after undergoing extensive reviews.

Presidents who do not deliver

The different governments of the United States, during these years, headed by Bill Clinton, from January 20, 1993 to January 2001; George W. Bush, January 20, 2001 to January 2009; of Barack Obama, from January 20, 2009 to January 20, 2017, have failed to lift the moratorium.

But it was Donald Trump, who, just a few days after taking office, called NAFTA "the worst trade agreement in history." Do you have the power to cancel it? is a frequently asked question and the answer is yes. Article 2205 of the Agreement establishes in just 34 words that "one of the parties may withdraw from the contract six months after notifying it in writing." However, the United States has not withdrawn from a trade agreement since 1866. Will it be this time?

The difference in size between Mexican and US companies should be noted. In the United States, large companies have more than 10,000 units, while in Mexico the ten largest companies together do not reach that number of vehicles.