Mexico will impose import tariffs on some U.S. pork cuts, ketchup, cheeses, sweetcorn and some fruits because of the U.S. government’s failure to restore a program allowing Mexican trucks to operate north of the border, the nation’s official gazette said.
The list includes a tariff of 5 percent on some cuts of pork and as much as 25 percent on fresh white cheese, according to the notice. Onions, apples, pears, oranges, cherries, soy sauce, mineral water and sunglasses are also on the list.
Mexico will charge the duties on a rotating list of 99 U.S. products valued at about $2.5 billion, Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari told reporters Aug. 16 in Mexico City.
Mexico’s government is waiting for the U.S. to propose a resolution to the standoff, which started when the U.S. Congress ended a pilot program allowing Mexican trucks to deliver goods in the U.S. Mexico responded in March 2009 by putting tariffs of 10 percent to 45 percent on U.S. goods including vegetables, wine, juices, sunglasses and toothpaste. Now, authorities are imposing a second round or tariffs covering more goods.
The 2007 pilot program, which let as many as 100 Mexican trucking companies that met safety rules haul cargo into the U.S., was canceled last year under a provision in a spending bill passed by Congress.
The dispute first erupted in 1995 after the U.S. refused to implement a cross-border plan agreed to under the North American Free Trade Agreement amid opposition from U.S. labor groups. U.S. officials have promised on multiple occasions to take steps to resolve the standoff. President Barack Obama said in August 2009 he was committed to finding a solution.
Trucking Dispute
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Aug. 16 the U.S. is working with Congress to resolve the trucking dispute. “We are disappointed that the Mexican government has announced its intention to impose duties on additional U.S. products related to the cross-border trucking,” Kirk said in a statement. Kirk added that he is committed “to resolve the dispute and end these duties.”
The trucking dispute “is a real pickle for the administration,” said Lori Wallach, director of Global Trade Watch in Washington, which opposes the trucking provisions in the trade deal. “There is no foreseeable moment when Congress lets Nafta trump safety.”
The Teamsters union, which fought against what it has called the unsafe foreign competition, called the new tariffs excessive and urged the Obama administration to challenge them.
“Instead of slapping additional tariffs on U.S. goods, Mexico should be living up to its end of the bargain by making sure its drivers and trucks are safe enough to use our highways,” James Hoffa, the Teamsters president, said in an Aug. 16 statement.
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