1. Trade,
2. Safety, and
3. Jobs.
1. “Free” trade is not free. Indeed, the results of U.S. free trade agreements seem historically to have been very costly to the U.S. and its citizens. As we begin to trade “freely” with nations that have a lower labor cost and/or a weaker currency, the U.S. loses manufacturing and related jobs to those countries where goods can be produced more cheaply. We begin to import goods we previously made here. Unemployment grows, and those who remain employed in the U.S. end up with lower-paying jobs. And the U.S. trade deficit and debt levels increase apace.
2. The U.S. can let Mexican trucks roll freely across our borders under NAFTA. Yet the U.S. federal government has no authority to impose U.S. safety standards upon trucks manufactured and bought in Mexico. The states also have no authority to require Mexican trucks and truckers to comply with their local safety standards, even those these standards were probably designed to best address the needs of their local populations. This means that unless Mexican trucks and trucking companies want to volunteer to pay the high costs of upgrading their trucks to meet U.S. safety standards (which seems unlikely), the Mexican trucks crossing U.S. borders under NAFTA free trade likely will pose hazards to our health and safety. Mexico does not require its trucks to meet anything like U.S. emissions standards. These trucks still belch toxic emissions just as U.S. trucks did several decades ago when dark brown clouds could be seen coming from the big rigs’ exhaust vents. And other U.S. safety standards designed to minimize the dangers of underride, rollover, exploding gas tanks, tire blowouts, cargo spillage and so on will simply not apply to these Mexican trucks crossing U.S. borders. Once these unsafe Mexican trucks start rolling freely across our borders, they may be all around you on the roads and highways, so take care.
3. Previously, Mexican trucks were not allowed to operate freely in the U.S. beyond a narrow border zone. Beyond that point, U.S. truckers, trucking companies, cargo loaders and distributors (required to comply with U.S. and state safety standards) took care of the shipment and distribution of goods to U.S. customers. Once we have Mexican trucks crossing U.S. borders with complete freedom to go where they will, the game completely changes. All those U.S. jobs could be lost once Mexican trucks can carry cargos all the way to destinations anywhere in the U.S. Indeed, I don’t see anything to stop companies from directly hiring the lower cost Mexican trucks and truckers (with their lower safety standards) to deliver all goods, whether from Mexico or not. So, when the Mexican trucking industry starts to roll over our borders in force, you may need to brace yourselves for more dangerous truck wrecks and more lost jobs here in the U.S. It may be that free trade just became more expensive again here in the U.S.