Farm Bureau asks Obama to restore program for Mexican trucks in U.S.

"In an effort to end trade sanctions against U.S. farm products by Mexico, the American Farm Bureau Federation sent a letter today to President Barack Obama seeking quick development and implementation of a cross-border trucking program that would comply with U.S. obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement," AFBF says on its Web site.

The program was suspended as part of a recent spending bill. "This action by Congress has come at a cost to U.S. agriculture and our exports to one of our top markets,” AFBF President Bob Stallman said. "We urge you to find a resolution that will honor our obligations under NAFTA, eliminating any cause for Mexico to halt U.S. trade."

"Under the terms of NAFTA, the U.S. and Mexico each agreed to allow trucks from the other nation access into their countries," adds the AFBF. "Unfortunately, the U.S. maintained its restriction on Mexican trucks crossing the border even after NAFTA implementation began." (Read more)

Now that the pilot program has been eliminated, the U.S. finds itself out of compliance with its obligations under NAFTA. Under the treaty, "Mexico has the right to retaliate against U.S. products entering Mexico, and it has done so,” Stallman said. “This retaliation will affect hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fruit, vegetable, nut, juice, wine, processed foods and oilcake exports to Mexico.”