...-Mexican Trucking Dispute Robert J. Carbaugh* Central Washington University ______________________________________________________________________________ Abstract Although the charter of the North American Free Trade Agreement established a schedule that would have opened the border states of the United States to competition from Mexican trucking companies in 1995, and all of the United States to this competition in 2000, the full implementation of these provisions has been delayed due to concerns about the safety of Mexican trucks and drivers. This delay has resulted in much frustration for Mexico, which, in 2009 implemented retaliatory tariffs on products imported from the United States. In March, 2011 the two countries unveiled a deal to resolve this dispute which could help ease tense relations between the two neighbors. This paper discusses the nature and significance of the trucking dispute between Mexico and the United States. Keywords: Transportation, trucking, NAFTA JEL classification: A10, F13, F23 ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. Introduction The economic ties between Mexico and the United States are of importance to policymakers because Mexico borders the United States and because of the significant economic links connecting the two countries. It is also of strategic importance for the United States to have a prosperous, democratic, and friendly Mexico as a neighbor. Mexico is the United States’ third ...
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...9, NAFTA and Mexican Trucking. 1. What are the potential economic benefits of the trucking provisions in the NAFTA treaty? Who benefits? Who might lose? 2. What do you think motivated the Teamsters to object to the trucking provisions in NAFTA? Are these objections fair? Why did Congress initially align itself with the Teamsters? * The Teamsters object the trucking provisions in NAFTA because the greater competition from Mexican trucking firms would lower the price of road transportation within NAFTA. * The Teamsters Union also argued that Mexican truck drivers had poor safety records and that Mexican trucks did not adhere to the strict safety and environmental standards of the United Sates. * The president of Teamsters, James Hoffa, says that Mexican trucks are older, dirtier, and more dangerous than American trucks. American trucks drivers are taken off the road if they commit a serious traffic violation in their personal vehicle. That’s not so in Mexico. Limits on the hours a driver can spend behind the wheel are ignored in Mexico. * The Congress initially align itself with the Teamsters during the Bush administration which approved a measure setting 22 new safety standards that Mexican trucks would have meet before entering the United States. 3. Did it make economic sense for the United States to bear the costs of punitive tariffs as allowed for under NAFTA, as opposed to letting Mexican trucks enter the United States? * No, it does...
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...business plan for “Mike’s Trucking Service”, there is evidence of all of these factors. Strengths When looking at the strengths in Mike Smith’s business plan, the first one that is noticeable is simply his motivation. He does not aspire to be a decent trucking company. Mike wants to be one of the largest trucking companies in the United States. Another significant strength is the found in the customers he looks to serve. Mike’s will serve four different market segments – the food industry, the computer industry, the retail industry, and an “other” segment to help catch the rest of the customers. Mike Smith’s experience as a 15 year industry veteran will also be a strength to his business. His extensive knowledge will allow him to better understand the industry and what is needed. Weaknesses Any business that is just starting out is going to be at its weakest point. That being said, Mike’s Trucking Service’s main weakness is their focus on the food industry. While the industry is currently stable and therefore favorable, any slowdown in the food production could end up in the business taking a turn for the worst. Luckily, Mike Smith is able to mitigate this risk by branching out and diversifying the business to include other industries as mentioned above. Another weakness of starting a business from scratch is that there is no clientele built up. Mike’s Trucking is having to try to convince people to give them a chance and in an industry as big as trucking, that is not always an...
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...Mexican trucks to haul freight on U.S. roads The ambitious but controversial North American Free Trade Agreement[->0] between the United States[->1], Canada and Mexico from the 1990s is back, this time as the backdrop to a contentious new cross-border deal allowing Mexican freight trucks onto U.S. highways. The agreement, announced last month by theDepartment of Transportation[->2], is being assailed by critics as a possibly illegal undertaking that will take jobs from U.S. truckers and money from U.S. taxpayers. It is opposed by the USA[->3]'s largest transportation union, the Teamsters, by a national association of independent truckers and by some federal lawmakers from both parties. "We think it's unsafe, unfair and wrong for America," says Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. "It's a danger to highway safety. …? It will cost thousands of trucking and warehouse jobs." He says the agreement is "probably illegal" because it goes beyond the scope of an earlier cross-border trucking pilot program that Congress killed in 2009. Critics such as Reps. Peter DeFazio[->4], D-Ore., andDuncan Hunter[->5], R-Calif., argue that Mexico's trucking industry is far less regulated and monitored than the USA's and that the deal opens the way for Mexican narco-traffickers to gain a foothold on U.S. roads. They're not convinced by assurances that Mexican trucks and drivers will be carefully inspected and monitored by U.S. authorities. "It takes $50 and a fake gold watch to get out of a speeding...
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...NAFTA and Mexican Trucking In the 1994, as soon the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, the treaty specified that trucks from each nation would be allowed to cross each other’s boarders to deliver goods. Before NAFTA Mexican trucks would have to stop at the border and unload their goods into American trucks, which was a very costly and timely process. A policy such as NAFTA was more efficient and also competition from Mexican trucking firms would lower the price of road transportation. Supporters argued that the savings of this policy could be significant. However, this provision was opposed by the Teamsters Union in the United States, which represents truck drivers. The union argued that Mexican truck drivers had poor safety records and that Mexican trucks did not adhere the safety and environmental standards of the United States. The Mexican government in March, 2009 increased tariffs on 89 products, with a value of $2.4 billion. Tariffs ranged from 10 to 45 percent and covered a variety of products that included paper, home appliances, vegetables, fruit, Christmas trees, suntan lotion, and other consumer goods. Among the states hit hardest by Mexico’s tariffs were California, Oregon, and Washington, which exported these products to Mexico. In March 2011, President Obama and President Felipe Calderon of Mexico unveiled a deal to resolve the dispute that kept Mexican trucks off American roads and resulted in billions of dollars in tariffs on U.S....
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...and integrity. In 2011 CHRW had gross revenues of $10.3 billion and handled over 8 million shipments. The mission of the organization is their people, processes, and technology improve the world's transportation and supply chains, delivering exceptional value to our customers and suppliers. Founded in 1905, one of the biggest strengths that Ch. Robinson Worldwide has is the access to available trucking companies, intermodal containers and ocean containers. CHRW has built their company on solid relationships and customer service. Having over 230 offices worldwide the company can reach and service a larger population of the globe. With handling over 8 million shipments last year and having over 37,000 trucking companies on contract CHRW can offer their customers prices extremely competitive prices and still provide excellent customer service. The major weakness of the organization is actually one of their strengths. Although the company can offer its customers excellent prices on shipments, it’s the truck companies that sometimes refuse to do business with them. Although a trucking company may be on contract with CHRW, this does not mean that they are obligated to haul loads for them. In the past the logistics industry was very unethical. Brokers were able to take...
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...ey j o u r n a l . c o m The Estey Centre Journal of and Trade Po l i cy An Analysis of an Alliance: NAFTA Trucking and the US Insurance Industry 1 Bradly Condon Professor, Department of Business, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico I n t e rn ational L aw Tapen Sinha Seguros Comercial America Chair Professor, Department of Actuarial Studies, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico and Professor, School of Business, University of Nottingham In the NAFTA, the United States agreed to phase out restrictions on the operation of Mexican trucking companies in the United States. When the deadlines came, the Clinton Administration chose to maintain the restrictions. Following a NAFTA panel ruling against the United States, the Bush Administration announced it would remove the restrictions. The decision has met with opposition from both truckers and insurers in the United States, who cite safety concerns. This article examines the economic, political and legal forces at work in this debate, as well as the relationship between the NAFTA and WTO rules on trade in services that apply. Keywords: NAFTA; insurance; trucking; WTO Introduction y a 285–143 roll call, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on June 26, 2001, that it would block the Transportation Department from issuing permits that would let Mexican trucks operate throughout the United States. This vote is the result of opposition from both the Democrats and the Republicans. The Democrats were pushed hard...
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...BUS3103: Case assignment NAFTA and Mexican Trucking When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect in 1994, the treaty specified that by 2000, trucks from each nation would be allowed to cross each other's borders and deliver goods to their ultimate destination. The argument was that such a policy would lead to great efficiencies. Before NAFTA, Mexican trucks stopped at the border, and goods had to be unloaded and reloaded onto American trucks, a process that took time and cost money. It was also argued that greater competition from Mexican trucking firms would lower the price of road transportation within NAFTA. Given that two-‐thirds of cross-‐border trade within NAFTA goes by road, supporters argued that the savings could be significant. This provision was vigorously opposed by the Teamsters union in the United States, which represents truck drivers. The union argued...
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...Trucking by Warren Fleming A Research Project Proposal Submitted in Partial fulfillment of the Requirements of Completion of LMGT 1321 Materials Handling Lone Star College Cy-Fair Campus Houston, TX June 2015 Almost every industry in today’s economy relies on large tractor trailers to deliver their goods and materials across our country’s roadways. You cannot travel anywhere these days without seeing a multitude of trucks that are hauling all sorts of commodities from one place to the next. The men and women that operate these trucks, leave their families sometimes for days or weeks at a time to keep up with the supply of products that you and I depend on every day. In recent years there have been many regulatory changes due to concerns over both safety, and the environmental influence. These transformations have been at the forefront of a number of technological advancements in the trucking industry. Before the trucking industry goods were transported across the United States by the rail road system. The trucking industry grew to a transportation industry leader after “[c]ongress provided funds to build the Interstate Highway System, an extensive network of highways and freeways that linked major cities across the continent” (Trucking Industry in the United States). These highways have benefited the trucking industry in several different ways. For example these multi-lane highways have no intersections that require a driver to stop therefore, traffic...
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...Lewis v. D. Hays Trucking, Inc. This case revolves around the liability of principals, agents, and independent contractors. The question is whether D. Hays Trucking Inc. is an employee of Hercules Inc. or is D. Hays Trucking Inc. an independent contractor? Once that question is answered, the court case becomes very clear of who is responsible for the damages caused by an accident. Here is the facts and background of the case. Hercules Inc. is large chemical corporation that has operations in Brunswick, Georgia. Hercules gathers tree stumps from various locations and parties. These tree stumps are taken to their plant in Georgia and processed. They extract a resin from the tree stumps and they in turn sell this resin to other manufacturers. D. Hays Trucking Inc. is owned and operated by Dexter Hays. According to Cheeseman (2012), Dexter Hays handled the following responsibilities: * Hired its own truckers and other employees * Paid for its employees’ workers’ compensation coverage * Paid for the company’s liability insurance * Withheld federal and state taxes from employees’ paychecks. Hercules and Hays entered into a contract. Hays would use a bulldozer to push stumps out of the ground. He would then deliver them to Hercules processing plant in Georgia using his own trucks. The contract between Hays and Hercules stated: It is understood that the Contractor is an independent contractor and that the Contractor will perform all work and furnish...
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...Through its subsidiaries, the Company operates as a truckload dry van carrier transporting general commodities throughout the continental United States, as well as in certain Canadian provinces. It also provides transportation services in Mexico under agreements with Mexican carriers. The Company’s operations can be classified into truckload services or brokerage, and logistics services. Truckload services include those transportation services, in which the Company utilizes Company-owned trucks or owner-operator owned trucks for the pickup and delivery of freight. The brokerage and logistics services consists of services, such as transportation scheduling, routing, mode selection, transloading and other value- added services related to the transportation of freight, which may or may not involve the use of Company owned or owner-operator owned equipment. According to the American Trucking Association’s “American Trucking Trends 2011” report, the trucking industry transported approximately 68% of the total volume of freight transported in the United States during 2009, which equates to 8.8 billion tons and approximately $544 billion in revenue. The truckload industry is highly fragmented and is impacted by several economic and business factors, many of which are beyond the control of individual carriers. The state of the economy, coupled with equipment capacity levels, can impact freight rates. Volatility of various operating expenses, such as fuel...
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...Integrative Problems and Virtual Organization Strategy FIN/370 Integrative Problems and Virtual Organization Strategy The Huffman Trucking Company was founded by K. Huffman in Cleveland, Ohio in 1936 with one tractor-trailer. By 1945 the company grew to 16 tractors and 36 trailers. Some of the most important clients are the U.S. Government, automotive, electronic, and plastic industries. The company has four locations: Cleveland, OH, Los Angeles, CA, St. Louis, MO, Bayonne, NJ (Apollo Group, Inc. 2011). The company grew through the increase of internal sales, and the acquisition of five different carriers from the East. Up until now, this growth has enabled the Huffman Trucking to continue to be privately held. Huffman Trucking now wants to expand operations and is considering three separate options to do so. This paper will compare Huffman’s options to go public, acquire another organization within the same industry, or merge with another organization. Going Public By going public the Huffman trucking company will improve its liquidity, gain more acquisition opportunities, as well as the ability to gain capital at a lower cost ("Going Public Experts", nd). The process of going public is not all beneficial; some of the down sides are the extensive time needed to complete the process. Furthermore, the payments of millions of dollars in fees such as legal, accounting, printing, listing, filing, along with the government fees pay to meet the tough standards regulation...
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...Renee A. Matthews Business Law BUS/415 Version 8 State of Confusion Paper Professor Stacy Mealey Article III, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution sets forth the jurisdiction of federal courts. Federal Courts have limited jurisdiction to hear cases involving Federal questions and diversity of citizenship as read in Chapter 3. The federal courts have jurisdiction over cases dealing with federal questions which are cases that are under the US Constitution, treaties, federal statutes and regulations. There is no limit on the dollar amount on cases that are assigned to federal court. When it comes onto diversity of citizenship, cases are brought to the attention of thee federal court which is to protect from court bias. Federal Courts has full jurisdiction over cases dealing with federal crimes, antitrust, bankruptcy any suits against the United States. According to Chapter 3 State Courts has jurisdiction over cases that federal court do not have jurisdiction to hear. It usually involves state law. The state of Confusion requires all trucks and towing trailers that use its highway to use a B-type truck hitch. It is manufacturer by only one company in Confusion. In order to drive through Confusion the new statute requires that each truck and or towing trailer uses a B-type truck hitch. Tanya Trucker, is the owner of the trucking company and feels that the new statute is unfair. Tanya wants to sue Confusion for the extra expenses that her company would incur...
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...Running head: STATE OF CONFUSION PAPER State of Confusion Paper Debra Brown University Of Phoenix Bus. - 415 Business Law SB09BSB10 Mr. Mark Oertel October 13, 2010 State of Confusion Paper This paper will attempt to analyze the case which has been brought upon the State of Confusion by Tanya Trucker, who has a trucking company that she owns in the State of Denial. According to the scenario, “The state of Confusion has enacted a statute requiring all trucks and towing trailers that uses its highways to use a B-type truck hitch. This hitch is manufactured by only one manufacturer in Confusion” (University of Phoenix, 2010). In order for Tanya Trucker to operate her trucking businesses, she would have to buy the hitches in Confusion were they are manufactured by only one manufacturer; in order to go through this one state, or go around the State of Confusion. Even though Tanya Trucker knows that interstate trucking is a huge and profitable business, and could possibly inflict an economic hardship not just on her company in Denial, but on many others trucking companies that want to go though the State of Confusion, but can’t because the manufacture of the (B-Type) truck hitch is only located in the state of Confusion. Therefore, Tanya Trucker has decided to file a lawsuit against the State of Confusion. She feels that the statue is unconstitutional, and may cause problems not just for her living in Denial, but for other out of state truck drivers as well...
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...efforts the City of Commerce has done by addressing the concerns of the added pollution caused by the trucking traffic and railroad yards. I understand there has been many letters written from the City of Commerce to the Los Angeles City Council regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that was prepared for the Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) project which addresses the potential growth of the railroad yards that is needed to accommodate the increased rail and container traffic. The increase in traffic will also increase the poor quality of air emitted in the City of Commerce. The lead agency is the public agency which has the principal responsibility for approving a proposed project such as the SCIG. The railroad yards and trucking transportation is the main industry of this city that increases the revenue, but the environment must be a safety priority to your residents. How can the city continue to increase their revenue without continually putting the residents at an increase in health risk due to the smog and carcinogen causing pollution from the trains and trucking industry? The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a statewide policy that was passed by the United States federal government for environmental protection. The California Environmental Policy Act (CEPA) passed in 1970, which does not regulate land use, but requires the state and local agencies within California to follow a...
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