Weekly Report - 07 July 2011 (WR-11-27)

MEXICO | US truck deal. The US government signed a deal with Mexico on 6 July that will allow Mexican trucks to deliver goods across the US. The deal was signed without any fanfare and ends one of the longest running problems in the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) which came into force in 1994. The US agreed to liberalise the trucking market under Nafta but it has taken 17 years to sort out the terms of the deal. The deal should sharpen Mexico's competitive edge in its capacity to make goods available to the US supply chain.
In return for free access for Mexican trucks to the US, Mexico will halve its retaliatory tariffs by 8 July. Introduced in 2009, these tariffs are worth US$2.3bn a year and are levied on US goods and agricultural products. The other half will come off when the US issues the first permits to Mexican truckers.
In the US Congress, politicians suspicious of freer trade from both the Democratic and the Republican parties are threatening to nix the agreement by refusing to approve the budget allocation the US government needs to pay for the inspection of Mexican trucks to ensure that they meet US safety standards.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 294 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial