The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco CA (possibly the most liberal federal court in the United States) delivered a stinging slap in the face to the Teamsters, anti-trucking group Public Citizen, and the Sierra Club on August 31. The court denied an emergency petition sought by the three groups that would have blocked the start of a one-year pilot program that will grant US entry to 100 Mexican trucking companies.
The Department of Transportation program reportedly will commence on Thursday, September 6. Under the DOT pilot program, Mexican longhaul trucking companies that have met the DOT’s safety, licensing, and other requirements will be allowed to send their rigs into the United States. This is all part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the Mexican government must grant reciprocal access. Canadian truck fleets already are allowed to operate freely throughout the United States.
The emergency petition filed by the three anti-Mexico groups was “notable for the complete absence of any assertion of immediate and irreparable injury,” according to the government response filed with the 9th Circuit Court on behalf of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
Agency officials went on to state that each year trucks from Mexico make 4.5 million trips across the border into US cities such as San Diego CA and El Paso and Laredo TX. These trucks have a safety record that meets and in some cases exceeds the safety records of US fleets.