Group to Decide If US Violated NAFTA Terms

Nov. 1, 2000
A group of international arbitrators will hand down a decision soon on whether the United States has violated terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement

A group of international arbitrators will hand down a decision soon on whether the United States has violated terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by not opening its borders to Mexican trucks.

The decision is expected to be made before Election Day, and according to political analysts, it could hurt Democratic candidate Al Gore, since the US vice-president is a part of the administration alleged to have violated the agreement.

The Teamsters union has given its endorsement to Gore, but has not made it clear if they would drop it if the United States loses the arbitration.

Texas Gov George W Bush, the Republican nominee and a NAFTA supporter, has called for inspections of Mexican trucks as they enter the United States, but believes that the border must be opened, Bush campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan said.

The United States did not own up to its NAFTA promise to let Mexican trucks operate on US highways starting in December 1995, saying that Mexican trucks were unsafe. Mexico, fed up with the delays, took the United States to court in 1999, and a decision is expected "anytime now," a senior US official said.

NAFTA rules require that the United States open its border to Mexican trucks, without any barriers regarding vehicle safety. As a result, the United States will likely lose the arbitration.

The NAFTA agreement was supposed to open the border states - Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California - to Mexican trucks by 1995. By last year, 48 states were to have been open to Mexican trucks. As it stands now, Mexican trucks can travel only a narrow strip near the border that lets them travel no more than 20 miles into the United States.

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