CANACAR SAYS MEMBERS WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN CROSS-BORDER

C O N F I D E N T I A L MONTERREY 000367

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/28/2017
TAGS: ELTN ECIN ETRD ECON PGOV MX
SUBJECT: CANACAR SAYS MEMBERS WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN CROSS-BORDER
TRUCKING PILOT

REF: A: MONTERREY 225 B: 2006 MEXICO 6368 C: 2004 MEXICO 9321

CLASSIFIED BY: Luis Moreno, CG, Monterrey, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) On March 27, EconOff met with Magdalena Diaz, Director
of the Nuevo Leon Chapter of the National Chamber of Cargo
Transportation (CANACAR),and Raul Trevino of Transportes Aguila
de Oro (TAO),a CANACAR-member trucking company headquartered in
Monterrey. In anticipation of the CANACAR National Assembly
meeting in Mexico City on March 28, EconOff was invited by
Director Diaz to view a presentation outlining why, according to
her, no CANACAR members will be participating in the
cross-border trucking pilot program, which was announced on
February 23. NOTE. Reftel A details EconOff's February 27
meeting with Monterrey-based CANACAR members to discuss their
reaction to the pilot program. END NOTE.


2. (C) In addition to the concerns CANACAR previously
expressed to EconOff (reftel A),Diaz and Trevino said that
Mexican trucking companies are most concerned that they will be
held financially and legally liable for their drivers' actions.
In particular, they expressed their fear that drug cartels and
smuggling rings will coerce drivers into carrying illegal
immigrants and contraband (including money, weapons, narcotics,
and precursors for manufacturing drugs like methamphetamines)
back and forth across the border. Trevino couched it in these
terms: "Participating in the pilot [program] is like announcing
to the Mexican mafias, 'Hey - we can take your drugs and people
directly from Monterrey to San Antonio!' They will come after
our drivers and once they come after you, there's nothing you
can do. And what happens when one of our drivers gets caught on
the border or in the U.S. with these people or drugs? The
[trucking company owner] will be held responsible and will be
put out of business. We have a responsibility to our customers,
employees, and shareholders not to let that happen."


3. (C) Director Diaz went on to speculate that, because of the
risks associated with sending Mexican drivers to the U.S., the
only trucking companies that will actually participate in the
pilot program are small, single owner-operator companies that
have fewer people (i.e. shareholders and employees) to whom they
are financially and legally responsible. She added that none of
these small trucking companies are CANACAR members, including
Olympic Transport, the company selected to participate in the
February 22 pilot inspection event.


4. (U) On March 28, Mexican media reported that CANACAR
president Tirso Martinez had requested that members of Congress
and the Undersecretary of Transportation Manuel Rodriguez
postpone the implementation of the pilot program. CANACAR
expressed its worry that Mexican companies will not be able to
compete effectively with American trucking companies, in Mexico
or in the United States. It has also alleged that Mexican
drivers will face discrimination because the 22 criteria set by
U.S. Congress in 2002 will be applied to Mexican companies
seeking to function in the United States and not to U.S.
companies in Mexico.


5. (C) COMMENT. An official of the Secretariat of
Communications and Transportation (SCT) confirmed to EmbOff that
CANACAR had made statements intimating that none of its members
would participate in the pilot program. The official also said,
however, that he had spoken to at least one CANACAR member that
plans to continue with its application for the pilot program,
and he expects other CANACAR members to do as well. As the
official noted, CANACAR has never been fully on board with the
pilot program or a full opening of the border to trucking,
though March 27th's statements to Congress set forth their
position much more explicitly than in the past. Officials from
SCT and the Secretary of Economy's office continuously engaged
with CANACAR representatives throughout the lead up to the pilot
program announcement. (Reftels B and C) CANACAR president
Martinez even spoke at the February 22 announcement of the
inspections program in Monterrey, at the request of SCT. SCT had
hoped that including CANACAR in the discussions and in the event
would dissuade the organization from coming out against the
program so directly. However, CANACAR's recent statements have
not created a rupture, the SCT official said; an SCT
representative is expected to speak at the CANACAR national
assembly today. Despite current measures in the U.S. Congress
to postpone the program and CANCAR's statements, the SCT
continues to move ahead with the pilot program, in coordination
with the Department of Transportation and the Embassy. END
COMMENT.

MORENO