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Summary

Legislation passed in fiscal year 2007 requires our office to review the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) pilot program for granting long-haul authority to Mexico-domiciled motor carriers, part of the Agency’s implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s (NAFTA) cross-border trucking provisions. The Department granted provisional authority to the first Mexican-domiciled carrier on October 14, 2011, formally initiating the pilot program.

Consistent with the legislation, we issued an initial report on August 19, 2011, and the interim report on August 16, 2012. The objectives for the final audit will be to determine whether (1) the Department has established sufficient mechanisms to determine whether the pilot program is having any adverse effects on motor carrier safety, (2) Federal and State monitoring and enforcement activities are sufficient to ensure that participants in the pilot program are in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and (3) the pilot program consists of a representative and adequate sample of Mexico-domiciled carriers likely to engage in cross-border operations beyond the United States municipalities and commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border.