A program allowing Mexican trucks unrestricted access to U.S. highways has been extended for two more years. Now an expert from Arizona State University will get on board.
Back in January, Congress was unsuccessful in putting a stop to the program. Congress was concerned about American jobs, highway safety, security and immigration issues.
Associate Professor Arnold Maltz of the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU will work to address the highway safety concern.
Maltz is working to start a driver training program to ensure safety on America's roads.
Maltz has already made several recent trips to the Arizona-Mexico border to work on his training project, which is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
However, it is still possible that members of Congress will block funding for the overall Mexican trucking program.
They introduced H.R. 6630 over the summer, in an effort to stop the program from continuing.
That measure has not come up for a vote and would likely be vetoed by President Bush, if passed.
Provisions for cross-border trucking were part of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.
Meantime, there hasn't been much interest in the program.
So far, only 10 U.S. companies have chosen to participate in the program, running 55 trucks south of the border.
Only 27 Mexican companies have joined in, operating 107 trucks in the U.S.
