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U.S. Pays To Upgrade Mexican Trucks

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Last Updated: Mon, 04/11/2011 - 3:23pm

In the latest effort to accommodate its cherished trade partner in the south, the U.S. government is paying to upgrade outdated Mexican trucks that hemorrhage illegal amounts of exhaust on their trips north to deliver merchandise.

The Mexican trucks enter the U.S. under a 17-year-old international trade pact known as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and they’ve created an air pollution crisis. The air quality in border towns has been especially impacted by the exorbitant levels of exhaust released by the Mexican trucks, which also fail to meet American safety standards.

Since the Mexican truckers have no intention of fixing the problem, Uncle Sam has stepped in to save the environment. U.S. taxpayers have picked up the cost to replace old mufflers on dozens of trucks and many more are scheduled to be upgraded by the middle of this year. The unbelievable story was reported this week by an Arizona newspaper that says replacing the old mufflers with new catalytic converters will reduce harmful diesel emissions by up to 30%.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is running the operation but the money is actually coming from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the same bloated federal agency that’s dedicated millions to “environmental justice” programs that help minorities get green. Under that brilliant EPA project, leftwing groups get federal dollars to teach black, Latino and indigenous folks how to recycle, reduce carbon emissions and participate in “green jobs” training.

In this genius case, EPA grants have upgraded 55 Mexican trucks and many more will be enhanced this year. Each truck costs U.S. taxpayers about $1,600. The feds justify the expenditure by claiming that it will improve air quality on both sides of the border, especially in towns that are helpless due to lack of resources. The director of Arizona’s Department of Environmental Quality says it’s all about establishing a “relationship on environmental issues.”

U.S. truck drivers are required to have the type of converters that Mexicans are getting from the American government, though they must pay for theirs. For years, the idea of Mexican trucks entering the U.S. under NAFTA has been a contentious issue because they follow the notoriously dismal safety standards of a third-world country.

In fact, a few years ago the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General determined that Mexican trucks that regularly travel throughout American highways are rarely checked for safety by U.S. authorities despite a provision requiring it. Rules requiring that every Mexican truck undergo a thorough safety compliance check and that every driver has a valid license and is proficient in English have been virtually ignored, according to the IG’s findings.

http://www.judicialwatch.org/b...grade-mexican-trucks
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mr.Dittohead:
Globalization is the future. Why are there so many different emissions and crash testing standards across the Earth?[/QUOTE

Yea I agree, not with the globalization but, if we could lower our's to China's, it might give our economy a fighting chance. Well maybe not that low. I do like to breath. Smiler

Keep Marching,
Skippy
Fact number 1- Mexican cargo trucks have not been allowed on US roads for at least the past 16 years but I believe it has been longer than that. As it is now, a Mexican tractor brings trailers to the border where they are picked up by American tractors. That’s the way it works for the time being, I know because we bring a loads across about once a week.
The problem is being worked on and an agreement is expected to be hammered out soon that will allow Mexican cargo trucks into the USA and vice versa which will reduce freight costs in both directions and will also help a lot of American companies by making it more practical to use American made parts and raw materials in Mexican factories because right now, LTL orders for parts are not worth the effort of buying in the US as the cost to bring them across the border is too much.
quote:
Sez bfred07: Fact number 1- Mexican cargo trucks have not been allowed on US roads for at least the past 16 years but I believe it has been longer than that. As it is now, a Mexican tractor brings trailers to the border where they are picked up by American tractors. That’s the way it works for the time being, I know because we bring a loads across about once a week.
The problem is being worked on and an agreement is expected to be hammered out soon that will allow Mexican cargo trucks into the USA and vice versa which will reduce freight costs in both directions and will also help a lot of American companies by making it more practical to use American made parts and raw materials in Mexican factories because right now, LTL orders for parts are not worth the effort of buying in the US as the cost to bring them across the border is too much.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/...h-pilot-program.html


As part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the U.S. agreed to allow Mexican trucks access to deliver goods in the U.S., a pledge it never fully honored after safety advocates and union officials said Mexico’s trucks and drivers didn’t meet U.S. standards. The U.S canceled its previous trucking program in 2009, leading Mexico to impose tariffs on U.S. products.


Mexico, beginning in March 2009, has imposed import tariffs on a rotating list of 99 U.S. products valued at about $2.5 billion. Products subject to the levy may include rice, beef, soy sauce and sunglasses.

Jose Refugio Munoz, the head of the Mexican trucking industry group known as Canacar, said he is skeptical the program will work because of differences in Mexican and U.S. environmental and labor regulations.

Groups including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association criticized the plan, saying it would jeopardize U.S. jobs because while Mexican drivers would want to drive in the U.S., drivers from the U.S. wouldn’t want to traverse Mexican highways.

“Until the Mexican government is able to significantly diminish the rampant crime and violence within its borders, commits to addressing its deteriorated infrastructure, and promulgates regulations that significantly improve its trucking industry, U.S. truckers will be unable to benefit from the anticipated reciprocity,” Todd Spencer, the group’s executive vice president, said today in an e-mailed statement.

The dispute over allowing Mexican trucks beyond A limited zone close to the U.S. border dates back to 1995 when the U.S. refused to implement the Nafta-required cross-border plan.
quote:
Originally posted by Jennifer:
I guess it would be to simple to just ban them from entering the country until they fixed the trucks themselves. Oh well. The EPA doesn't bat an eye when they put an American company out of business for any small infraction real or imagined.


A typically clueless response from the resident Atheist Tea Bagger.
quote:
Originally posted by JimiHendrix:
quote:
Originally posted by Jennifer:
I guess it would be to simple to just ban them from entering the country until they fixed the trucks themselves. Oh well. The EPA doesn't bat an eye when they put an American company out of business for any small infraction real or imagined.


A typically clueless response from the resident Atheist Tea Bagger.
A typical democritic response from the hypocrite jimi. So now you're telling us you're not an atheist? Secondly, I'm not a member of the Tea Party. I'm a Republican. But you knew that, it's just jimi being jimi.
quote:
Originally posted by Jennifer:
quote:
Originally posted by JimiHendrix:
quote:
Originally posted by Jennifer:
I guess it would be to simple to just ban them from entering the country until they fixed the trucks themselves. Oh well. The EPA doesn't bat an eye when they put an American company out of business for any small infraction real or imagined.


A typically clueless response from the resident Atheist Tea Bagger.
A typical democritic response from the hypocrite jimi. So now you're telling us you're not an atheist? Secondly, I'm not a member of the Tea Party. I'm a Republican. But you knew that, it's just jimi being jimi.


I was talking about you, not me. As for you NOT being a Tea Bagger.......or a racist.........if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, etc.

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