Why should we allow Mexican truckers to operate freely in the US???

I respect what you are saying. I'm not here to pick a fight, but I would like to see the jobs be given to the people of their own country. There are a lot of out of work Americans because of jobs going to other countries. Canada and Mexico can stay on their side of the fence and so can the US

 

Oh I totally agree! We need to kick out all those BP workers who found themselves unemployed and now take refuge within Canadian borders. Sounds facetious doesn't it!

 

While I understand your point of view, I think it is not as easy you make it out to be because the cost of shipping freight would skyrocket. Let's imagine that a 2.5 million dollar turbine is loaded onto a speciality trailer in Canada. They have special riggers/loading crew to load it, pay an enormous amount of insurance to insure the load, etc. How comfortable are they going to feel about having that expensive load transloaded at the border? How do they know that the crew there at the US border know how to safely load it? How can they be assured that it is being placed upon the appropriate trailer/equipment? It would be very cost prohibitive and a HUGE risk as well. I would NOT want that to happen if I were the owner of that load. Now, we both know that happens every day with loads going into Mexico. How many brokers have told carriers, "Don't tell the shipper that the load will be put on another truck in Laredo!!" But it is wrong and dishonest. And how far do we go? What about ships coming into dock in the US from China? Should they stop 100s of miles out in the ocean in international waters so a US ship can meet them and bring the shipment in the rest of the way into your US shores? Please believe me that I am not here to pick a fight either. I'm just sharing my point of view. Thanks, H

 

I know you are not trying to fight and I am not taking it that way. I understand what you are saying. I just think the boarders should be as open as they are and I see to many American jobs being lost to foreign workers. Can you 100% lock it down....No. But I do think they can have more restrictions on how far foreign trucks can go.

 

Canada has more problems then the BP workers taking refuge. Heck you may call parts or Toronto " Little Afghanistan "

 

You make good points Chickadee, however you'd be incorrect in this part of your statement. Shippers that ship into Mexico know exactly how and by who their shipments will be handled. Be it a borker load taken and unloaded at a cross dock or forwarding agent in Laredo, or truckload carrier who drops their trailer and its taken across and to its destination in Mexico.

 

You're making some excellent points here also and talking with common sense. You'll never lock the border down 100% nor should you, and people forget, there are two borders. The one we should really be concerned about is north of us, with all the "New Canadians" from the Middle East and Somalia who have reason to do us harm.

What a lot of people either don't realize or refuse to acknowledge is while we have lost jobs to NAFTA in the beginning, other jobs have been created because of NAFTA to replace those initially lost. And advances in technology, robotics and such have caused less need for workers than before.

More restrictions on foreign trucks? Actually, we need to abide by our commitment that we made with NAFTA and allow the Mexicans the same access as we do the Canadians. They've proved their fitness over the past 40 years or so that they've been allowed grandfathered access to run on US highways.

 

I respectly disagree. I have had 3 loads in the past year and a half where the broker told me DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES tell the shipper that your trailer will not be going into Mexico and that his load will be transloaded onto a different trailer in Laredo and taken into Mexico by another carrier. Brokers have their trucos. Loads that should be in-bond they find a way to make it as if it is going to a forwarding agent in Laredo...or whatever. There is always a way to bend the rules. But, as far as what you said, many shippers do NOT know that their merchandise will be taken off one trailer and placed on another trailer at the border.

 

Along with Little Greece, Little Italy, China town, Little India.....

 

Ok Chickadee, I'm getting your point there and you are absolutely correct, but let's put the fault where it belongs on unscrupulous brokers who feel the need to run their business in that manner.... One reason why I fully support the new broker bond requirements. Maybe it will put some of them out of business