Industry News

FMCSA Issues Proposal and Seeks Comments on U.S.-Mexico Long Haul Trucking Pilot

April 12, 2011


The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently issued a proposal for a new pilot program. The new program aims to settle the U.S.-Mexico cross border trucking dispute that led to Mexico imposing 5-15% retaliatory tariffs on $2.4 billion worth of U.S. goods. Mexico is expected, in accordance with at draft agreement reached in March, to reduce these tariffs by 50% when a final agreement is signed and to suspend the remaining 50% when the first Mexican carrier is granted operating authority under the new pilot program. The official notice and request for comments is scheduled to be published in the April 13, 2011 Federal Register. Comments are due by May 13, 2011.

 

The proposed pilot program would allow Mexico-domiciled motor carriers to operate throughout the United States for three years, provided that Mexico grants United States-domiciled motor carriers reciprocal rights to operate in Mexico. The proposed operating authority only applies to transport of international cargo, not point-to-point services within the United States. The pilot program would proceed through three stages, including an initial three month period in which a motor carrier’s vehicles and drivers would be checked each time they enter the United States. Stage two involves the motor carrier’s vehicle being inspected at a rate and level comparable to other Mexico-domiciled motor carriers in the United States. After 18 months, provided the carrier obtains a satisfactory safety rating, the carrier’s operating authority would become permanent. Carriers that participated in the 2007-2009 pilot program will be given credit for the time they operated under that pilot. The FMCSA will also be equipping each participating vehicle with an electronic monitoring device. Operating authority excludes transport of hazardous materials and passengers.

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