It is little wonder The Economist magazine has called the border region, “one of the most positively dynamic regions of the 21^st century.”  As the theme of this summit indicates, we truly have become two countries with a common destiny.

NAFTA has also promoted greater cooperation between our two countries.  As evidenced by the agenda for this summit, today we work together on an array of pressing issues ranging from housing, health care and the environment to drug enforcement and immigration. 

The outstanding work of the Joint Working Committee on Transportation Planning demonstrates this kind of cross border cooperation in the transportation sector, a vital relationship reinforced last October by the signing of a new bi-national Memorandum of Understanding.  I also want to acknowledge the transportation information sharing of the Border Technology Exchange Program.  These important efforts will enhance professional and technical capabilities on both sides of the border, and will improve institutional and legal compatibility between the two countries.

Here in the United States, we have started improving our transportation infrastructure to meet the increased traffic that NAFTA will generate.  Congress has authorized the expenditure of $700 million as a part of the Borders and Corridors Programs.  Already, some of these resources have started flowing to border projects here in Texas, including $23.7 million for I-69, and $6.4 million for I-35.

Getting, and keeping, our transportation infrastructure NAFTA-ready, both here in Texas and across the nation, will require a long-term commitment at both the state and federal level.  The Administration will look forward to working with the Texas Congressional delegation as we begin gearing up for the reauthorization of the next Transportation Equity Act, which funds programs for highways, highway safety, and transit.

While celebrating the successes of NAFTA, we also recognize the challenges on the road to implementation.   For example, eight years after Congress approved the agreement, a requirement that the U.S. and Mexico open their common border to commercial vehicle traffic still remains unfulfilled.  Last February, a NAFTA arbitration panel determined that the U.S. had violated its obligations to Mexico under the agreement.  

Congress has made it clear that they want the United States to have a rigorous, effective safety program in place prior to implementing the truck and bus access provisions of NAFTA.  The Bush Administration shares this goal, and we want to work with the Congress, and with the government of Mexico, on a plan to make it happen. 

I believe four core principles must guide our efforts to implement the NAFTA truck and bus access provisions.

First, every Mexican firm, vehicle and driver that seeks authority to operate in the U.S. -- at the border or beyond --  must meet the same safety and operating standards that apply to U.S. and Canadian carriers.  Nothing less is acceptable.

 Second, safety remains the Department of Transportation’s highest priority, and we will not sacrifice safety to implement NAFTA.  I believe we can develop an effective safety enforcement program allowing us to meet our NAFTA obligations by January 1, 2002.  However, if our ongoing work indicates that we need more time, we will take it.  If we need more resources, we will insist upon them. 

Third, the United States must fully comply with our NAFTA obligations.  I appreciate that not everyone supported NAFTA in 1993.  Still, it is the law of the land.  The United States cannot, and the Bush Administration will not, unilaterally ignore the commitments we have made in an international trade agreement previously approved by the Congress, regardless of the political pressure to do so.

Fourth, Mexican carriers lawfully operating in the United States must be guaranteed the same high standards of fairness and protection that we offer U.S. and Canadian carriers.  NAFTA gives Canadian, Mexican and U.S. carriers operating in one of the other countries so-called "national treatment."  That means each country must provide a level playing field for competition.  We can have a civil discussion about how best to accomplish this goal. 

However, I am concerned about the tenor of the recent debate on this issue.  Some seem to argue that a Mexican carrier -- precisely because it is from Mexico   -- will fail to comply with our laws.  Others, seeking to preserve protectionist policies, use misleading statistics about the rate of U.S. inspection of Mexican trucks.

Recent actions by the U.S. Congress jeopardize the ability of USDOT to implement NAFTA’s commercial vehicle provisions.  The House voted to bar the use of any Department funds to process applications for Mexican carriers that seek to operate in the United States outside the commercial zone.

The Senate version prevents Department approval of a Mexican operating authority application until the Mexican company meets 22 separate requirements.  Regrettably, these numerous conditions would, collectively, lead to the same stalemate created by the House of Representatives.

President Bush has said he strongly believes that we can have safety on our highways without discriminating against our neighbors to the south.  And, the President’s senior advisors have indicated they will recommend that he veto any bill containing provisions that prevent the opening of the border to commercial traffic in a timely manner. 

We do not need to be at loggerheads on this issue.  As Secretary of Transportation, I want to work with Congress to decide how best to meet our existing and very real international legal obligations. 

What’s more, the actual safety considerations in implementing our NAFTA obligations are, in fact, very different from the picture painted by the opponents of open borders.  Working in conjunction with Mexico’s trucking industry, the government of Mexico has instituted a number of safety measures, many of them compatible with our own safety regimes, leading to considerable declines in out-of-service rates, both for drivers and for vehicles.

Nevertheless, the United States needs a program to ensure the safety of all vehicles seeking to travel our roads.  Recently, the USDOT proposed a safety enforcement plan, which will involve close coordination  -- already underway -- with Federal and State officials in the United States, with the Mexican government, and with the truck and bus industries on both sides of the border.  

Our plan places heightened requirements on Mexican carriers currently operating along the border -- more scrutiny than currently exercised -- and it means a new, stricter system for those seeking to move outside the existing twenty-mile commercial zone.

We know this approach works.  California officials already perform a Level 1 inspection -- the most thorough type of vehicle and driver check -- on each commercial vehicle that does not display a current Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance decal.  As a result, the out-of-service rate for Mexican trucks entering California is only 23 percent, nearly identical to the 22 percent rate for U.S.-based vehicles, and better than the national average. 

Opening the border to Mexican trucks and buses by the beginning of next year will require considerable effort.  However, I am thoroughly convinced the United States can fulfill our NAFTA obligations without jeopardizing highway safety, either in our border communities or anywhere else in the nation, and I am fully committed to doing so.

And we will prevail in opening the border -- sooner or later.  Safety is an enduring goal that requires our perpetual vigilance.  However, outdated protectionist policies that seek to use the guise of safety to extend their date of obsolescence will surely fail.  The only uncertainty is the extent of the financial harm suffered by the United States before we succeed in discarding them.

We have only scratched the surface of potential benefits from expanded trade and economic development along the border.  The kind of bold, innovative leadership found in the room today will help engender the cooperation necessary to capture the opportunities.  Two countries, one common destiny.

Thank you for the chance to talk with you this morning.  I know you will have a successful and productive conference.  Good luck and God speed.

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Briefing Room