Donde esta el Puente?

Metro-Detroit motorists are used to seeing tractor trailers with foreign plates. Canadian trucks are common. The Detroit-Windsor crossing is the busiest border in North America. Shipments with tight deadlines cross the Detroit River every hour of everyday. Now Mexican trucks will join the mix.

March 4 Michigan Radio

  The Obama administration announced a deal Thursday that will allow Mexican truck drivers to ply their trade on US roads.    The deal ended a nearly 20 year ban. Under the deal, Mexican drivers and their trucks will have to meet US safety and other standards.

The US Chamber of Commerce applauds lifting the ban on Mexican truckers. Mexico imposed high tariffs on more than 2 billion dollars worth of US products annually, in retaliation for the ban, which Mexican officials claim violated the North American Free Trade Agreement.      

Mexican trucks have been banned for almost 20 years. Mexico has long argued that the ban violates NAFTA. The Obama administration ended the ban Thursday.

Truck drivers in the States, both union and independent are concerned. Businesses may begin to choose to ship products with Mexican drivers. Mexican truckers are paid less than their American counterparts. It only makes sense that corporations, bound by law to make as much money as possible, would choose a more affordable shipping option.

Environmentalists are concerned that Mexican trucks may not pass safety and exhaust standards.

US business leaders, lead by the US Chamber of Commerce applaud the move. They argue more shipping means more business, which in turn, means more jobs. Mexican tariffs on US goods will also by removed. This would increase trade.

So how does the decision affect Detroit?

• Local unionized and independent truckers may see pay cuts as competition increases.

• Increased traffic would place greater demand on the Windsor Detroit crossing. Pressure to get the 2nd bridge (DRIC) done would increase. It might be the straw the breaks the Michigan GOP's back. Many republican lawmakers have be cool to the idea of a publicly owned bridge, even as Gov Rick Snyder pushed for it during his State of the State address.

• Southwest Detroit with its large Latino population might really benefit. Southwest is one of few economic engines in Detroit. Detroit Businesspeople of Mexican origin could use their connections in Mexico to streamline shipments and save money.

Mexican trucks are coming to Detroit, that is for sure.. It is up to us to ensure the positives outweigh the negatives.