San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Position Statement:
Support for fulfilling NAFTA’s cross-border trucking issue with Mexico
Eddie Aldrete
Chairman
Raúl Lomelí-Azoubel
2012 Chairman
Norma Martinez Lozano
Past Chairman
2011 Executive Committee Chairs
Raul Lomeli-Azoubel
Membership
Noah Garcia
Finance / Treasurer
Sonya Medina Williams
Marketing / Communications
Donald J. Gonzales
Business & Economic Development
Jesse J. Hereford
Government Affairs
Anita Uribe Martin
Small Business
Albert Carrisalez
Leadership Development
Louis Barrios
Education
Johnny Hernandez
Secretary
Jorge Herrera
Legal Advisor
Honorable Hope Andrade
Chair Advisor
Fernando Reyes
Chair Advisor
Honorable Armando Ortiz Rocha
Honorary Chair
Ramiro A. Cavazos
President & CEO
BACKGROUND: Through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the
United States agreed to grant Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways starting in 2000.
Although a pilot program was not started until 2007, it operated successfully until it was
terminated by Congress in the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Bill due to alleged safety
and environmental concerns1. In response to the United States’ failure to adhere to the
provisions of the NAFTA agreement, beginning in March 2009, the Mexican government
imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports to Mexico. Since that time, U.S. exports into
Mexico have faced additional tariffs of over $4 billion. These tariffs hurt our exports to
Mexico, which in turn has cost us jobs in the U.S.
In a recent meeting between President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderón,
the U.S. pledged to begin taking the necessary steps to fulfill our commitment to grant
access to U.S. highways for Mexican trucks. Fulfilling this commitment is not only vital to
our relationship with Mexico, our second-largest export market, but also with the
implementation of the NAFTA trucking provisions, San Antonio will be able to offer
shippers an economical alternative for Mexico-related logistics and distribution related
activities.
HIGHLIGHTS: Cross-Border Trucking Agreement:
 Allows Mexican and U.S. Long-haul carriers to obtain permanent operating authority
to deliver international cargo across both countries, as long as they comply with the
pertinent rules and regulations
 Recognizes and credits the experience and safety record of Mexican carriers that
participated in the previous demonstration program of 2009
 Trade Sanctions imposed on US products will be suspended, yet Mexico reserves
it’s right to reinstall the tariffs should the US fail to comply
 Allows for door-to-door delivery of international goods across our borders - once
implemented, the cross border trucking provisions in NAFTA will allow shipments
bound for Mexico to be consolidated in San Antonio and trucked without interruption
directly to destinations in the Mexican interior
 Offers the possibility of eliminating significant inefficiencies in our trade transport that
may lead to more jobs, safer roads, and greater competiveness for both nations and
North American region
RECOMMENDATION: The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) granted
complete cross-border access for land transportation between Mexico and the United
States and has created many jobs and economic development in the border region of
Texas. Staff recommends that the Board of Directors of the San Antonio Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce adopts the following position statement in support of NAFTA’s
recent cross-border trucking agreement:
STATEMENT: The San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the first Hispanic
Chamber in the nation, representing 900 businesses in the greater San Antonio area, fully
supports NAFTA’s cross-border trucking agreement, and calls on the United States
government and President Obama to honor and comply with the NAFTA agreement in its
entirety.
IMPLEMENTATION:
The San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will
communicate this position statement to leaders in our community as well as other officials
and Hispanic Chamber members via our weekly membership newsletter, and on our
website at www.sahcc.org.
1
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, through EPA grants paid for Mexican truck owners to replace old
mufflers with new catalytic converters that will reduce harmful diesel emissions by up to 30 percent. Funds
came from Border 2012 grant by the EPA.
Pearl Brewery – Full Goods Building
200 East Grayson Street, Suite 203, San Antonio,Texas 78215
Tel 210.225.0462 | Fax 210.225.2485 | www.sahcc.org