Opinion: The Mexicans Are Coming! The Mexicans Are Coming! . . . Not Really

It’s time we shed more light than heat on the issue of Mexican motor carrier safety. Although it’s widely known that the decision to deny Mexican truckers access to the United States resulted from a deal between the White House and the Teamsters, and even though a North American Free Trade Agreement arbitration panel found that the United States breached its obligations under the treaty, the heat is still on. Distortions of the facts by labor unions and by some in Congress do a disservice to the public. It’s time, therefore, for a realistic assessment of the potential impact of Mexican motor carriers’ access to U.S. highways.

p>Alarmists fear that Mexican truckers will flood U.S. highways, but that is simply untrue. According to the Bureau of the Census, there are an estimated 796,900 motor carriers operating Class 7 and 8 heavy-duty, long haul trucks in the United States. But the number of applications filed by Mexican motor carriers for authority to operate in the United States by contrast, totals 184 — a mere 0.0002% of the U.S. trucking industry. Even if all of those applications are approved, the Mexican presence in the U.S. market will hardly be noticeable. Additionally, Mexican carriers are permitted to carry only international cargo, hardly a major part of the U.S. market.

p>Another charge that is frequently made is that Mexican drivers will take away U.S. jobs. But under Nafta and Immigration and Naturalization Service laws, employing Mexican drivers in the U.S., moreover, won’t necessarily be cheaper than hiring U.S. citizens. A driver whose residence and principal place of employment are in Mexico and who starts the day in Mexico but subsequently enters the United States will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on earnings generated in both the United States and Mexico. In addition, both Nafta and INS rules require that the primary source of remuneration be in pesos. Therefore, a Mexican motor carrier

p>In another scenario, a Mexican motor carrier that establishes a company in the U.S. and is able to prove that there is a driver shortage could hire Mexican drivers who qualify for H-1B “Non-Immigrant” status and employ them here for up to three years. These drivers would still be restricted to carrying international cargo, and their employer would be legally obligated to comply with U.S. employment laws. But once they have been admitted with H-1B status, the Mexican drivers could be recruited and hired away by a U.S.-owned and controlled motor carrier, and would be allowed to handle domestic cargo. Therefore, any Mexican carrier operating

n the United States would be forced to pay a competitive wage if it wanted to retain its employees.

p>Mexican motor carriers will also find it difficult to compete because they are limited to carrying international cargo — and obtaining loads for their return trip won’t be easy. Because cargo imbalances are likely, Mexican carriers will have to set up equipment pools in this country. And they will need to establish sales offices, develop a customer base, and implement information systems that compare to those of their U.S. competitors and in the process create U.S. jobs. Finally, Mexican carriers will need to meet the same federal and state insurance and safety requirements that every U.S. carrier must meet, which will impose a

ignificant financial and regulatory burden on them.

Two federal reports have demonstrated that safety should not be an issue. In