03/13/08 NAFTA/Mexican trucking controversy

The US Congress is threatening to hold up a trucking program with Mexico which is part of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. STALLMAN "By us not honoring our agreement under NAFTA we are sending the wrong message and we will be subject to roughly two billion dollars worth of retaliation." American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman says Mexican retaliation isn't the other problem; loss of American jobs is part of it. He says as many as 40 thousand jobs in the processing and distribution chains are at risk. Stallman says we should think twice about halting the trucking program with Mexico especially since US ag exports now enter Mexico duty free. STALLMAN "NAFTA has been very positive for US agriculture. Prior to NAFTA we exported roughly three to four billion dollars a year of agricultural products to Mexico. In 2007 that number has increased to 12.7 billion dollars worth of products. Efforts now to halt this particular piece of NAFTA would be a classic case of just cutting off our nose to spite our face. This affects what other countries think about us around the world. If we're going to negotiate in good faith, complete an agreement, pass an agreement and implement an agreement its up to us to honor the commitments under those agreements." Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott