U.S. SUPREME COURT Mexican officials praise justices' trucking ruling

Mexican trucks must meet U.S. safety standards.
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
A unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the last -- and biggest -- barrier that for 22 years has blocked Mexican commercial trucks from rolling over American highways.
The high court rejected the argument from a coalition of labor and environmental groups that the U.S. government had neglected to measure the environmental impact of Mexican trucks on American roads.
Mexican officials and business leaders quickly hailed the justices' decision. They called it "a victory for the rule of law" as the North American Free Trade Agreement calls for an open border for commercial truck traffic so long as vehicles and drivers comply with the same laws as domestic drivers.
In 1999, amid heavy lobbying by labor unions, President Clinton decided to continue enforcing a 1982 ban on Mexican commercial traffic because of safety concerns. NAFTA would have allowed Mexican trucks on U.S. highways in 2000.
Assessment
"The long-term impact will be big," said Luis de la Calle, a Mexico-based consultant for Public Strategies Inc., an Austin, Texas-based consulting firm. "Now there is no reason for Ford not to carry cars and parts on the same trucks from Hermosillo to Detroit, whereas today you need to change the trucks, cross the border and then change drivers."
It may be a while before Mexican commercial vehicles are seen on roads and interstate freeways deep in U.S. territory, however. It is unclear whether the high court ruling will halt a $2 million environmental review that began after the lower court ruling and is due to be issued soon.
Moreover, experts said, northbound truckers may be hard-pressed to find enough returning commercial traffic to immediately justify huge investments in new trucks that meet American safety requirements.