The US Department of Transportation (DOT) reported Wednesday Mexico will soon lift retaliatory tariffs on more than $2 billion in US manufactured goods and agricultural products. US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood and Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes Dionisio Arturo Pèrez-Jàcome Friscione joined Wednesday in Mexico City to sign agreements resolving the dispute over long-haul, cross-border trucking services between the US and Mexico.
The conflict began in late 1995 when the US blocked Mexican trucks from crossing a 25-mile border zone under safety concerns. With the signing of the agreement, Mexican trucks will be able to drive into US destinations for delivery, but won't be able to make deliveries between two (or more) US locations. The same rules will apply for US trucks in Mexico.
Also under the agreement, Mexico will suspend 50 percent of the retaliatory tariffs within 10 days, and will suspend the remainder of the tariffs within five days of the first Mexican trucking company receiving its US operating authority. As a result, Mexican tariffs that now range from 5 to 25 percent on an array of US agricultural and industrial products would be immediately cut in half and will disappear entirely within a few months.
Secretary LaHood said, "The agreements signed today are a win for roadway safety and they are a win for trade. By opening the door to long-haul trucking between the United States and Mexico, America's third largest trading partner, we will create jobs and opportunity for our people and support economic development in both nations."