Trade Dispute Divides Workers

NAFTA was supposed to create a free trade area between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, allowing for duty free imports and exports between the three countries. There were a number of non-tariff measures in NAFTA designed to facilitate trade, one of which was transportation. Currently, Canadian trucks operate freely on U.S. highways, moving Canadian exports from seller to buyer directly. Mexican trucks, however, are prohibited from operating on U.S. soil, which means all Mexican goods, including perishable foods and produce, must be offloaded at the border and transferred to U.S. trucks. The U.S. government claims this is for safety reasons, but the Mexican government claims the Teamsters union is behind this move, in an attempt to save trucking jobs. The Mexican government has retaliated by imposing tariffs on a number of U.S. exports, including Mary Kay cosmetics, coated paper, and potatoes. If more tariffs are imposed, then other U.S. industries face similar tariffs, leading some other unions to call on the Obama administration to permit Mexican trucks now.


Trade Dispute Divides Workers - WSJ.com