- March 17, 2009 - President Obama faces his first trade war after Mexico slapped import tariffs on $2.4 billion in U.S. goods. This is in retaliation for a ban on its trucks from American roads. Congress incited the trade confrontation by killing the pilot program begun in 2007 that had allowed a few Mexican 18-wheelers to deliver goods across the border. Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota killed the program by inserting a provision into the Obama approved $410 billion spending bill Congress passed and Obama signed. Mexico Economy Secretary Gerardo Ruiz Mateo imposed the tariffs on about 90 U.S. products from 40 states, which will include farm goods such as rice, beef, wheat and beans. Mateo stated “We consider this U.S. action to be wrong, protectionist and a clear violation of the treaty,". He also said the decision violates a provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement among the U.S., Mexico and Canada, enacted 15 years ago amid opposition from U.S. labor unions.
D-: Is this what the world expected when it anticipated that America’s foreign relations would improve under the Obama administration? Obama signed off on the $410 billion spending bill which included the provision to end this program. Democrats claim,among other things, of Mexican trucking safety concerns. This is a blow to the American/Mexico relations. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Department ,Mexico is the third-largest U.S. trading partner after Canada and China. In 2008, the U.S. and Mexico had $368 billion in total trade. Mexico is also America's second biggest export market. John Murphy, vice president of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce stated that the Mexican trucks are just as safe as American trucks pointing out very few safety violations. "These are some of the most inspected trucks in the world, and the records show that they performed very well". As of now President Obama has not taken any action to solve this issue and reverse the new Mexican import tariffs on American exported goods. If nothing is done, this will only hurt the American economy more than it is already currently suffering.