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October 15, 1999 8:30 AM, EDT

In the first public visit by a sitting president to a Teamster leader since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Clinton said he would not open the border to unsafe trucks and unqualified drivers from Mexico.

At an Oct. 10 dinner honoring Teamsters President James P. Hoffa, Clinton expressed his support for maintaining current restrictions on Mexican truck access to the United States until their safe operation can be ensured.

“I don’t intend to allow the trucking rules to be changed until there are safety measures in place,” he said.

In 1995, Secretary of Transportation Federico Peña delayed the full implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s cross-border trucking provisions, which would have allowed Mexican trucks to travel anywhere in the four U.S. southern border states, until 2000.

For the full story, see the Oct. 18 print edition of Transport Topics. .