Truckers Welcome Plans to Finalize USMCA Agreement

Legislation advances a trilateral trade deal announced last week by the Trump Administration that would update and replace the North American Free Trade Agreement

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for approving H.R. 5430, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act. The legislation advances a trilateral trade deal announced last week by the Trump Administration that would update and replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Since USMCA negotiations began, OOIDA has worked diligently with the United States Trade Representative, Members of Congress, and Committees of Jurisdiction to amend the original NAFTA cross-border trucking provisions that continue to harm American small-business motor carriers and jeopardize highway safety. The negotiated USMCA deal creates a thorough review process to identify and remove Mexico-based carriers and operators that pose material economic harm to American truckers.

 “For far too long, we have seen our members suffer from foreign companies taking away jobs and profits from drivers in the U.S.,” said OOIDA president, Todd Spencer.

OOIDA also points out that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s own safety statistics show that the crash rate for Mexico-domiciled carriers is about three times higher than U.S. carriers.

The newest agreement between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada includes the following trucking provisions:

• Requires the USDOT Inspector General to review the procedures and actions taken by the Secretary of Transportation to determine whether each Mexico-domiciled motor carrier with operating authority is in compliance with applicable Federal motor carrier safety laws and regulations.

• Requires the USDOT to undertake a survey of all existing grants of operating authority to, and pending applications for operating authority from, all Mexico-domiciled motor property carriers for operating beyond the Border Commercial Zones, including OP-1 (MX) and OP-1 operating authority.

• Establishes a thorough federal review process to restrict unsafe foreign carriers that pose material harm to American trucking entities from operating beyond the Border Commercial zones.

“This will hopefully prevent Mexico-domiciled carriers that are exploiting our laws from operating on U.S. highways, which has significantly lowered wages for American drivers across numerous segments of trucking,” adds Spencer.
OOIDA will continue working with the Administration and Congress on behalf of small-business truckers to ensure that cross-border trucking is a fair and mutually beneficial endeavor.

“We support the breakthrough USMCA agreement that is intended to stop unregulated Mexico-based trucks and drivers from unlawfully transporting freight on our nation’s roads. We hope the approval process continues moving forward and the Agreement is implemented as soon as possible,” added Spencer.

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