The issue of Mexican truckers granted use of Texas highways is an important and ongoing struggle. If you or a loved one has been involved in an auto accident related to the Mexican trucking industry and trade, and you are in or around the San Antonio region, you may require the legal aid of an experienced San Antonio truck accident lawyer to help you obtain the compensation you deserve. Thankfully, a Carabin Shaw attorney is here for you.
The rules of exchange between Mexico and the United States before 1982 had always upheld that trucks containing Mexican imports into the United States could enter the country as needed, but they could pick up returning shipments if and only if their final destination was Mexico. The inverse was applied to American truckloads; they could travel anywhere inside Mexico to drop off shipments, and if they were headed back to the United States directly, they would be permitted to carry products back to America. The state of Texas is particularly affected by trade legislation as it pertains to Mexican/American import and export regulations.
In 1994, the Clinton Administration worked with the fellow North American mainland governments of Canada and Mexico to create the North American Free Trade Agreement. The inception of NAFTA facilitated ease of trade and movement of goods between the three countries. Key among the principles set forth by the formulation of NAFTA was an allowance of increased flow of trucks containing imports and exports between borders of the three nations. Although it was a valiant concept, obstacles of enforcement arose quickly.
Then, in 2007, during George W. Bush’s presidential tenure, the government harvested a new attempt to officially increase the trucking industry’s presence between the neighboring countries, in conjunction with the Mexico government. Congressional pressures from American workers’ unions soon caused the government to pull the plug on this attempt however, and it wasn’t until 2011 when the Obama Administration tried once more to increase the commercial trucker trade presence between Mexican and American borders further than the agreed-upon 25 mile intermediary safe zone. Labor unions again met the legislation with resistance, but were largely ineffective in their effort to prevent the change. Since the move, this border and commercial trade leniency with Mexico has become the two countries’ trucker trade industry status quo.
Opening up the American and Mexican borders to country-to-country commercial trucking trade commerce has been a hot issue for decades, and with the geographical proximity of the two very different federal governments of Mexico and America, it does not seem like a resolution is close at hand.
The legal nuances of claims and cases surrounding Mexican truckers granted use of Texas highways can be confusing and difficult to understand for many reasons, even to lawyers. Principle of these reasons is the fact that much is still left unknown about what the definitive legislation will entail once the issue is finally settled. Per the Federal Bureau of Transportation Services, in 2006, more than 3 million Mexican trucks passed through the Texas–Mexico border making their way into the United States. With every one of these trucks comes the possibility of careless driving, negligent drivers, and an increase in threatening or potentially fatal road and big rig conditions that may bring about an accident.
In these instances, it is very difficult to regulate how qualified or how much experience is possessed by these Mexican truckers granted use of Texas highways. This inevitably leads to an increase in danger for surrounding motorists, and the Central Texas and San Antonio region is no exception. Opening our roads to unregulatable drivers and commercial trucks places the rest of drivers sharing the road with them at potential risk, not only due to possible negligence during the hiring process, but also because many of the commercial trucks used to transport into the United States from Mexico are made out of older, less durable equipment that is more likely to break down without warning.
Contact the attorneys at Carabin Shaw today to learn about your options. Our experienced team of lawyers in the San Antonio region will fight at all costs to fight for your rights and receive due recompense for any injuries or inconveniences accrued in an accident related to the Mexican trucking industry and semi-truck accidents/18 wheeler accidents. Each claim is important to us; each client is important to us. For a free consultation, contact the lawyers at our San Antonio office today at 210-222-2288, or toll-free at 800-862-1260.