Opinion: A Market for Used Trucks South of the Border
America is buzzing with talk about the projected national surplus. Many say we should return it to the American workers in the form of a tax cut. Others claim we should keep it in Washington for future spending.
I’d like to talk about a different kind of surplus. This surplus is massive. It can be counted with our own eyes and is growing every day. The surplus I’m talking about is the United States’ used-truck surplus.
Perhaps it is not as glamorous as the budget surplus, but it is still a pressing issue for our nation’s trucking industry.
Things operate differently on the other side of the border. When you look to our friends in Mexico, you see that they have limited restrictions on their trucking industry. Mexican trucks are driven for as many as 15 years before they reach retirement. That 10-year gap between U.S. and Mexican trucks creates a staggering amount of safety problems. Many of the trucks are burdened with flat tires, broken windshields and exhaust problems. These problems create safety issues for the driver, the truck cargo, highway infrastructure and the other drivers on the roads of Mexico.
A North American Free Trade Agreement arbitration panel recently ruled that the United States has been in violation of the agreement’s international trucking provisions for failing to allow Mexican trucks to enter the United States. President Bush agreed with the ruling and has promised to open our border to qualified Mexican truckers. However,
President Bush has insisted that the Mexican operators and their trucks meet safety standards before entering the United States. These safety standards will protect our roads, our environment and, most importantly, our drivers and passengers. The safety standards are a necessity for our country, and may present a problem for Mexico. Many of their trucks would not currently pass safety regulations and would be restricted from entering our country. This is bad news for both sides of the border.
The free trade agreement was put in place to stimulate trade and help the economy. Without trucks to carry the goods, a major component of the plan is missing.
There is a solution. There is a way that both countries can come together and solve both problems. The United States has a huge surplus of used trucks and Mexico would benefit from U.S. trucks that meet safety standards. Selling U.S. used trucks to Mexico creates the optimum solution.
Unfortunately, a 1990 Mexican auto decree prohibits the sale of used U.S. trucks to Mexico. Nafta gradually eases this ban beginning in 2008. However, according to the timetable, the average 5-year-old equipment in the United States could not be sold in the Mexican market until 2015.
We cannot wait 14 years. Truck surpluses, safety concerns and air pollution are problems today and must be dealt with in a timely manner. A negotiation of the cross-border trucking dispute presents an excellent opportunity to address both issues. By opening the Mexican market to used U.S. trucks, Mexico would have access to newer, safer and better maintained trucks without having to pay the premium price of brand-new equipment. And by the same token, the United States would have an outlet for selling the thousands of used trucks currently sitting on lots all across our nation.
This is a win-win solution for both countries. Great economical and social advances will stem from the free-trade agreement. It is up to our two countries to work together and make these benefits a reality.
Rep. Bonilla, a Republican, is in his fifth term representing the 23rd district of Texas, centered in San Antonio.
This article appeared in the April 9 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
