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Mexican truck ban deemed threat to ag trade

Pork in crosshairs; what's next?
Martin Ross 
Published: Sep 2, 2010
U.S. pork producers are among the latest victims of a prolonged -- and escalating -- U.S.-Mexican dispute. Illinois corn growers and others fear a continued standoff could jeopardize their south-of-the-border markets, as well.

As Congress returns to the Hill, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) will lobby for a solution to a U.S. ban on incoming Mexican truck shipments that has sparked retaliation against a number of U.S. ag goods. In August, Mexico imposed new import tariffs on pork, cheeses, pistachios, and a range of vegetables and fruits.

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexican carriers may bring cargo into the U.S. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced a pilot project allow a limited number of trucks to haul loads more than 25 miles into the U.S.

However, in March 2009, Congress failed to renew funding for the program, sparking a NAFTA violation ruling against the U.S. and initially limited retaliation against some U.S. products. As the dispute neared its first anniversary, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood pledged to develop a plan to address the issue, but NPPC spokesman Dave Warner suggested pork was added to the list “to make it a little more painful” after a plan failed to materialize.

While NPPC will seek congressional pressure for administration action, he told FarmWeek “Congress has been the holdup, too,” threatening to withhold funding for any project that would bring truckers over the border.

Other commodity groups are concerned U.S. inaction could threaten their Mexican sales, as well. According to the National Association of Wheat Growers, tariffs “seem targeted at products in politically-important industries and states.”

NAFTA eliminated Mexican tariffs on U.S. ag goods, and in 2009, the U.S. exported 503,000-plus metric tons of pork worth more than $762 million to Mexico, making it

the industry’s No. 2 market. Mexico also is a key market for Midwest yellow corn, largely railed through Texas.

“Twenty-five percent of the corn Mexico uses comes from that state of Illinois,” Illinois Corn Marketing Board value-enhanced project director Philip Thornton noted. “This could be very important to us -- it’s a very important market.”


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