Bush, Dems Duel Over Mexican Trucks

W A S H I N G T O N, July 26 -- Differences over safety standards for Mexican trucks have provoked a partisan and racially tinged confrontation on Capitol Hill.

President Bush today called on lawmakers to grant trucks from Mexico greater access to U.S. roads without imposing new safety requirements more stringent than those applied to vehicles from the United States or Canada.

"It is wrong for the Congress to discriminate against Mexican trucks," Bush told reporters in the Oval Office this morning. "Whether it be people or trucks or businesses, I solidly reject discrimination."

The president's comments came amid harsh rhetoric and procedural maneuvering in the Senate over proposed safety standards for Mexican trucks.

Under the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement, the United States, beginning next year, must open its roads to Mexican trucks, which are now restricted to a 20-mile border zone.

Senate Democrats and some Republicans are pushing a measure that would bar the processing of applications for Mexican trucks operating in the United States until rigorous safety inspections are completed.

"Under our bill, when you're driving on the highway behind a Mexcian truck, you can feel safe," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who is co-sponsoring the measure — an amendment to a bill to fund the Transportation Department — with Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.

She cites department statistics showing that trucks from Mexico are 50 percent more likely to be ordered off the road for safety deficiencies than U.S. trucks.

Republicans Decry 'Discrimination'

But the Bush administration, Senate GOP leaders and the bulk of their members argue the restrictions are discriminatory and would violate NAFTA.

"I urge the Senate to reject an amendment to the transportation bill that would clearly discriminateagainst Mexican truckers," the president said today. "Our Mexican counterparts, frankly, need to be treated just like the Canadians are treated."

"I am not going to let Mexico be discriminated against," Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, vowed during floor debate this afternoon. "I don't think it is right. I don't think it is fair."