Pilot Program being challenged by 2nd stand alone Bill

Who's being naive? How many trucks today, considering that five million crossings a year occur at the southern borders, have been caught smuggling illegal aliens? Apparently not enough to even document the count.

The more notable instances that make the press involve aliens picked up north of the border, and by American drivers.

Yes...we read about this on a daily basis...right? Please. Corruption exists everywhere, and Mexico has no lock on that.

Again, just about every last one of the cases that make the press, involve drivers that picked up aliens in THIS country, and they were American based.

Only a fool would attempt to bring aliens in a truck across border checkpoints.

But it's not on trucks, as a general rule.

Nope...because it isn't happening now in notable numbers.

Because NAFTA is not a horrendous failure, nor responsible for the losses that have plagued the manufacturing sector. You need only look at American unions to where that finger need be pointed.

That's a very weak argument. They will still have to pay all the relevant taxes that we pay to run our trucks on our roads in each state. American truckers don't buy fuel in many states, but still pay all the taxes on the amount of miles that are traveled in each state, whether or not they purchase fuel there. This is reconciled in the quarterly IFTA tax, which will be required to be filed by each Mexican carrier as well.

Fuel prices are not subsidized. They are controlled. A check today pegs the current price of diesel at around $2.00 a gallon in Mexico, all conversions being made. It's not quite the bargain some would say it is.

And for the record, there are more than a dozen oil companies in Mexico, each with their own territories protected by the Government. It does limit competition, but diesel is the only bargain. Gas is almost equal in price to what we pay in the states. Mexico is slated to be on board with low sulfer diesel in 2008, and that will more than likely erase price differentials tremendously.

Yep..I follow along just fine. But hey....don't let a few facts stand in your way. Carry on.....

 

Thirty days. That's what they have agreed to. When the borders are open to the pilot program, Mexico will approve all of their provisions thirty days later, a more than fair proposition if you ask me, since all of this has been stalled for 15 years.

 

My dad was paying $2/gallon for gasoline in Mexico a while before it reached that price here in the states. Fuel prices in Mexico are cheaper along the border but once you get farther south, they go up. One interesting thing though, you'll never see the price of fuel advertised on any signs. No point since it's the same price at every station in a given area.

 

Wouldn't that be cool if it was that way here?

I could go for an equalization of prices....but then that would be contrary to my core belief that competition is healthy....

Gee...I'm so conflicted.

 

Mexican diesel is actually very good quality. It has a higher average cetane rating when compared to US market diesel, and had the same pre ULSD sulfur rating of 300-500 ppm. Mexican diesel used to be high in sulfur but in the 90's PEMEX reformulated their diesel fuel

My dad took a trip in his 2006 Jetta TDI and it had no problems on the fuel, got great MPG. The only problem is that diesel powered cars are almost unheard of in Mexico, so consequently the diesel pumps have only the large high volume nozzles for trucks and buses. The older TDI's have fuel necks that accept the old larger nozzles but the '06 has a restricted fuel neck. So filling up required the use of a funnel, lol. Since PEMEX stations are all full service, the attendants were a bit perplexed about the situation, lol.

 

I think of all that cheap labor down in Mexico and all the goods that
get shipped all the way from China and I wonder why? Because
we have barriers, it must not be profitable the make these products
in Mexico instead of China. These Chinese goods have to come a long
long way, Mexico would not even have to match their prices to
to beat their prices because of transportation.

I also think of all the Chickens we grow in the US, I believe we can
grow them cheaper then just about any where in the world. No one
can beat our farmers either. If we can open trade with Mexico
we will win jobs not lose them, don't underestimate what the
US can do. I would like to see us sending more chicken, corn and other
goods right down to Panama and beyond and this is the first step
unless the democrats stop it. We have the best climate in North
America and a better economy for exporting food than any other
country in North or South america but you look around in a grocery
store, very often a lot of the food goes bad. It time to stop subsidizeing
the farmers so much and paying them not to grow things and its time to
start shipping food south.

 

You want to blame somebody for the drug smuggling problem? Look in the mirror. Its your friends and neighbors who want the stuff and keep up the demand.