Mexican carriers, according to NAFTA, should long ago have had access to international shipments into the U.S. interior and for return trips, just as Canadian haulers have had for many years. (U.S. carriers, too, should have reciprocal access to Mexico’s interior.) Read my story on the cross-border-trucking subject, published in July 2009.
But just as drug cartel violence has escalated this year and been declared a national security threat, “78 percent of all security breaches to the U.S. customs'” Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism this year, Burnett reported, could be linked to Mexican trucking companies. The C-TPAT program inspects and preclears companies’ shipping security protocols to ensure the safety of freight coming into the country. Be aware, though, that it’s not necessarily the drivers that are to blame, many of whom are often found to be unaware of what they’re moving. Burnett well elucidates this in his story.