The Bush administration can proceed with a plan to open the U.S. border to long haul Mexican trucks as early as this week after an appeals court rejected a bid by labor, consumer and environmental interests to block the initiative.

The administration plans to start the program on September 6. Transportation Department officials hope to receive final clearance early next week from the department’s inspector general’s office, which is reviewing its safety aspects, and finalize details with Mexican authorities.

Reviewing safety aspects essentially is a joke. Anyone regularly traveling the border states with Mexico has already witnessed how the Bush Administration reviews safety. Currently, US inspectors check 1% of Mexican trucks entering the country. About 35% fail!

Trucks from Canada have no operating restrictions in the United States.

And there’s no need. Canadian standards are as high - or higher - than US requirements.

Folks on the highway with Mexican long haul trucking companies should get ready to discover one more example of what our government is willing to give away to make corporate lobbyists happy.