NAFTA conference planned for transportation professionals

In anticipation of the transportation provisions of NAFTA being fully implemented this January, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Free Trade Alliance, in cooperation with Canada, Mexico, and other federal, state, and provincial agencies, will host a NAFTA information conference October 21-24, 2001, at the Hyatt Hotel in San Antonio, Texas.

Come January motor carriers from all three NAFTA countries will have increased access to each others countries, many of them for the first time. Motor carriers will be required to comply with operating requirements, as well as a variety of customs, immigration, agricultural, and other requirements imposed by each NAFTA country.

The conference will provide a forum for U.S., Canadian, and Mexican government officials to conduct panel sessions that convey information about their requirements that apply to motor carrier operations. The NAFTA conference will include panels that convey information about:

(1) applying for U.S., Mexican, and Canadian operating authority;
(2) immigration requirements for drivers operating outside of their own country;
(3) Customs requirements for foreign trucks engaged in international operations;
(4) agriculture regulations applicable to imported commodities;
(5) tax obligations for companies operating commercial vehicles outside their own country;
(6) motor carrier safety standards;
(7) hazardous materials transportation safety regulations;
(8) vehicle weight and dimensions standards applicable to foreign commercial vehicles;
(9) other federal, state, and provincial requirements.