I think he's on the right side of this, but it's a bit rich to throw all the blame on the Democrats. After all, this was an issue before the pre-2006 congress, too, and Republican leaders, chastened by the anti-Mexico populist wing of their party, did nothing to get a permanent right of passage for Mexican trucks approved, and he washes that away as Bush Administration doing what it could. I also think it's a bit early to conclude that Obama blew it. I'd be willing to bet that in a year there will be some sort of compromise in place whereby Mexican trucks are rolling through the States and tariffs on American goods are back to their normal levels.If the higher tariffs go into effect, first blame should be on the Congressional Democrats who made this happen by killing the pilot program for Mexican trucks. These trucks and the companies that own them have to be certified by American regulators, so they must meet U.S. safety standards. This is not about safety. This is protectionism, pure and simple.
And it’s protectionism of the worst kind. We are over nine years behind on our commitment to open our roads to certified Mexican trucking companies. The Clinton Administration refused to take action. The Bush Administration did what it could in the face of Congressional opposition, starting the pilot program.
Also, this is trivial, but the finale is kind of bizarre:
Clear leadership, Mr. President. And Vice President Biden and Secretary Clinton have a responsibility to tell him this.We kind of know what he means, but the two sentences don't link up at all. (The two officials in question have a responsibility to walk up to the president and say nothing more than, "Clear leadership"?) Also, neither Clinton nor Biden appears in the piece at all until the end, and all of a sudden they are the last bastion of hope for the free-traders? I don't think of either one as a free-trader. Why them?
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