Suit To Slam Brakes On Mexican Trucks

A coalition of environmental, labor and trucking industry groups has asked a judge for an emergency stay of President Bush's decision to open U.S. highways to trucks from Mexico.

The groups filed the request Monday, saying the federal government did not adequately review the impact the trucks would have on air quality north of the border. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave the government until Wednesday to respond.

Last week, Mr. Bush opened U.S. highways to Mexican trucks beyond the 20-mile commercial border zones where Mexican rigs currently transfer their cargo to U.S. trucks that carry the loads to points within the United States.

The coalition, which sued the government in April to stop the trucks from operating in the United States, wants to maintain the status quo until the legal dispute is resolved. A 1982 moratorium banned Mexican trucks from the United States.

A ruling on the groups' request is expected in the next couple of days. If it's not granted, trucks could be traveling on U.S. highways as soon as this month.

Dave Longo, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, said the suit was under review and the agency wouldn't comment on it.

So far, the Department of Transportation has received about 135 applications from carriers and bus companies based in Mexico seeking to haul their cargo farther into the United States.

Mr. Bush's decision complies with a provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the government found letting the trucks in would have "no significant impact" on the environment. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said last week when Mr. Bush took the action that Mexican trucks would be held to the same standards as U.S. operators.

But the groups say the decision disregards federal clean air requirements and will let high-pollution vehicles into the country.

Al Meyerhoff, an attorney for the groups, said more than half the trucks in the Mexican fleet date to before 1994, when there were fewer regulations on their emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency has adopted even stricter requirements to be phased in over the next couple of years for new trucks, and Meyerhoff said his clients believe that the Mexican trucks are not being held to those standards.

An estimated 63,000 Mexican trucks crossed the border last year, making about 4.3 million crossings, mostly through Texas.

The groups filing the petition Monday include Public Citizen, the Environmental Law Foundation, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the California Federation of Labor AFL-CIO and the California Trucking Association.

CBC News Correspondent Dan Raviv reports other trucking industry groups, like the American Trucking Association, support the president's move because they feel it will create more business for American truckers hauling goods into Mexico.

Under NAFTA, Mexican trucks were supposed to be granted free passage on American roads in January 2000, but safety and environmental concerns delayed that. A NAFTA arbitration panel ruled in February 2001 that the United States' ban was illegal and ruled the U.S. must allow the trucks in by January 2002. Delays implementing the changes have pushed the schedule back.

A General Accounting Office report on the issue in December 2001 found that "While the Mexican government has developed truck safety regulations and taken steps to enforce safety and air emissions standards, these efforts are relatively recent and it is thus too early to assess their effectiveness."

The Department of Transportation says Mexican drivers will be subject to U.S. trucking service rules, mandating hours of rest. Trucking companies will have to be audited to get the right to drive into the United States, and trucks must display an inspection sticker. Those stickers are good for 90 days.