Source:  Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 8/10/09

In his meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Sunday, President Obama said he was committed to resolving a trade dispute between the two countries that has cost companies on either side of the border money on lost exports, according to Bloomberg.

The border trucking spat erupted last March when Congress allowed to lapse a program that had temporarily allowed Mexican truckers access to U.S. highways in four border states. Originally, the NAFTA agreement had included provisions that would have granted Mexican truckers access to all U.S. roads by 2000.

In retaliation, Mexico in March imposed hefty tariffs on several categories of imports from the U.S. Although meat and poultry were not among those sectors hit with tariffs, the industry has watched the dispute closely. Mexico is the industry's No. 3 export market.

Obama also said that, as part of the solution, he would consider the safety concerns of legislators and union members. Those concerns were the reason the program was not renewed in March.

In June, the 4,500 Mexican Trucking companies represented by the National Freight Transportation Chamber (Canacar), said they wanted $6 billion in compensation from the United States, saying the United States was not complying with NAFTA's provisions, Bloomberg reported.

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