U.S. Moves to Patch Mexico Rift

(Wall Street Journal – Christopher Conkey)

The Obama administration began efforts Friday to ease an erupting trade dispute with Mexico by starting work on a new program to give Mexican truckers broader access to U.S. highways.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood met with officials from the State Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to design a cross-border trucking program “that will meet the legitimate concerns of Congress and our [North American Free Trade Agreement] commitments,” said a White House spokesman.

A person familiar with the meeting said the participants “are going to work to get a proposal everyone likes before [President Barack] Obama’s trip to Mexico in April.”

The administration’s move comes after Mexico earlier this week slapped tariffs on $2.4 billion in U.S. goods ranging from grapes to toilet paper. Mexico said its action was retaliation for a provision in a budget bill Mr. Obama signed earlier this month that effectively shut down a pilot program that had allowed some Mexican truckers to transport cargo beyond a 25-mile commercial zone inside the U.S. border. Mexico says the U.S. is failing to meet its obligations to cut barriers under NAFTA.

Business interests ranging from Pennsylvania-based Hershey Co. to the USA Rice Federation are urging the White House to permit qualified Mexican truckers to drive on U.S. roads.

Exporters affected by the tariffs say the government is causing economic damage by catering to unions that are more concerned with protecting jobs than improving safety. Read more here.