Freight coalition warns White House on border shutdown

Highlights from a Freight Waves article dated April 5, 2019 by John Gallagher. Read the entire text here.

“Despite President Trump’s announcement on April 4 that he is giving Mexico a “one-year warning” before closing the southern border, a group of 18 organizations, including the American Trucking Associations and the Association of American Railroads, asserted in a letter to the White House that billions of dollars of freight flowing through rail and trucking supply chains is still at risk.”

“The primary message of the letter is: ‘As the Administration continues efforts to protect and secure our nation’s borders, all cross-border freight traffic, whether by truck or rail, must be allowed to flow unimpeded.’”

“The April 4 letter was addressed to White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow and White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and copied to the secretaries of Commerce, Treasury and Homeland Security. It cited a U.S. Department of Commerce estimate of $1.4 billion worth of goods crossing the border in trucks and trains each day last year.”

“The letter also noted that more than 42 percent of carloads and intermodal moved by U.S. railroads are tied directly to international trade, which supports 50,000 railroad jobs. For the U.S. trucking industry engaged in cross-border trade with Mexico, more than 31,000 truck drivers are employed, the coalition claimed.”