Editorial: An Appropriate Veto Threat

The White House has threatened to veto any bill passed by Congress that violates the North American Free Trade Agreement or that prevents the United States from living up to its obligations under that pact.

And while we hope that the House and Senate take heed, it still appears that federal lawmakers are likely to adopt language as part of the transportation appropriations bill that President Bush will find unacceptable.

If Congress persists, we believe President Bush should follow through and issue the first veto of his presidency to underscore just how seriously he and his administration view this challenge to Nafta.

Supporters of the language that is designed to block the president’s stated intention of opening up the U.S. border to qualified Mexican trucking operations, as required by Nafta, say their concern is strictly related to safety. But we can’t help but think that most of this is posturing.

If Congress is worried about the safety and reliability of the trucks that will cross the southern border, it should appropriate more funds for safety inspections and inspectors. Rather, the House version of this bill strips all of the funding out of the budget, and prohibits the Department of Transportation from using money from other areas to make up for the shortfall.

The primary opposition to admitting Mexican trucks that would carry cargo into and out of the U.S., as agreed to when Nafta was approved in 1993, has come from the Teamsters union, which is concerned that lowly paid Mexicans will replace American drivers.

As a result, President Clinton refused to grant the access to U.S. freight lanes during his two terms. A Nafta arbitration panel has now ruled that the inaction violates the trade agreement, and makes the United States liable for damages for harm done to Mexican truckers.

Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta has already warned Capitol Hill that the U.S. could be liable for $1 billion a year in punitive tariffs on goods moving into Mexico because of the violation.

We continue to believe that a path can be charted that will both ensure that the U.S. lives up to its obligations and that the Mexican truckers who cross the border meet the same high safety standards that our domestic truckers are expected to meet.

Stick to your guns, Mr. President.

This story appears in the July 16 print edition of Transport Topics.Subscribe today.