| MEXICO CITY (Dow Jones)--Mexican transport leaders said
Monday they have persuaded government officials that any
retaliatory action against a U.S. ban on Mexican trucks would
be directly aimed at trucking and not some other industry.
Manuel Gomez, president-elect of the National Cargo
Transport Chamber, said at a press conference that the
government will wait, however, to see whether the U.S. Senate
supports a House vote banning permits for Mexican trucks.
Gomez met Monday with Economy Minister Ernesto Derbez,
where he pressed the chamber's case for a tit-for-tat ban on
U.S. trucks operating in Mexico.
Under the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement,
Mexican trucks were supposed to have access to all U.S. roads
as of 1995, but their entry has been persistently blocked with
U.S. truckers charging the Mexican fleets don't meet safety
standards.
In the lastest action, the U.S. House of Representatives
voted last week to stop the Transportation Department from
issuing provisional permits for Mexican trucks. The measure
must now go through the Senate.
Derbez had said last week that Mexico could retaliate by
targeting imports of U.S. high fructose corn syrup, which is
the subject of another bilateral trade dispute.
But Gomez said that after Monday's meeting, Derbez agreed
any action under NAFTA would involve U.S. transport.
Mexican truckers are urging the government to close the
border to U.S. trucks as long as Mexican trucks are kept from
the U.S.
Gomez said the chamber is disappointed it hasn't seen more
concrete and swift support from the government of President
Vicente Fox.
"We have now reached the point where we shouldn't wait
any longer," he said. "In theory we are equal
partners (in NAFTA), so why should we have to wait for the
U.S.?"
If the U.S. ban sticks, and the government doesn't do
anything, the chamber will have to take its own measures,
Gomez said, adding that border blockades are among options
that have been considered. The chamber has about 4,000
members.
Gomez said Mexican trucking firms are suffering from a lack
of demand for their services, and estimated that 60% to 80%
currently operate at a loss, which is one reason they oppose
unfair competition.
"I think that U.S. truckers fear our entry because of
the competition, and obviously we have that fear here,"
he added. |