House Passes USMCA Implementation Bill with Provision on U.S.-Mexico Cross-Border, Long-Haul Trucking

Last week, the House of Representatives passed the United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA), the update to NAFTA, sending it to the Senate for ratification. The legislation to implement the new trade deal includes a provision that would affect U.S.- and Mexico-based companies that provide cross-border, long-haul trucking services between the two countries.

Title III, Subtitle C of H.R. 5430 (starting page 116) establishes a new process for interested parties—such as U.S. businesses that do cross-border, long-haul trucking between the U.S. and Mexico, trade associations, or certified unions—to file a petition with the International Trade Commission (ITC) to investigate whether a Mexican entity with a pending or existing grant of authority to conduct cross-border long-haul trucking services between Mexico and the U.S. is causing “material harm” to U.S. entities that also provide those services. The intent of this section seems to be to ensure U.S.-based companies don’t lose a significant share of the market for these trucking services to Mexican companies.

Under the new process, the ITC would have 120 days to investigate, including holding public hearings, and determine whether a pending or existing grant of authority for a Mexican entity has caused, or would likely cause, material harm to the U.S. long-haul trucking services industry. If the ITC finds that it does, it would then have 60 days to recommend to the President what actions to take to provide relief from that harm. This relief could include denying the Mexican entity in question a new grant of authority, or issuing a revocation or restrictions on an existing grant of authority. It would also allow the U.S. Department of Transportation to cap the number of requests for registration by Mexico-domiciled motor carriers.

The President would then have 30 days to specify the relief to be provided based on the ITC’s recommendations, unless the President finds that providing relief would not be in the U.S. economic interest or would cause harm to national security. The U.S. Department of Transportation would then have 15 days to implement the relief. Relief could last no longer than two years, with a possible extension of up to four additional years if the President determines the relief continues to be necessary to remedy or prevent material harm.

TIA continues to monitor Congressional action on USMCA. If you have any questions or want to share your thoughts on this provision, please contact TIA Advocacy at advocacy@tianet.org or 703.299.5700.