The United States Supreme Court has issued a ruling opening up most U.S. highways to Mexican truckers. The court found that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration did not have the authority to overrule the president’s decision to lift the 1982 moratorium on cross-border trucking. “FMCSA remains subject to its mandate that it register any motor carrier willing and able to comply with various safety and financial responsibility rules,” the court held. “Only the moratorium prevented it from doing so for Mexican trucks before 2001.”

The decision has raised a number of concerns among the insurance industry, most particularly relating to safety rule enforcement, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. “FMCSA has developed the rules and infrastructure to hold Mexican motor carriers to the same safety standards as American motor carriers,” said David M. Golden, PCI director of commercial lines. “The real issue is compliance, and the ball is now in the court of FMCSA to follow through with that enforcement.”

Another concern, according to Golden, is that the insurance market for cross-border operations be open to all interested insurers. PCI has been active in advising insurance and trucking regulators from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. “We will continue to work with colleagues of all three countries to streamline and harmonize insurance regulations to facilitate entry of insurers into this new market,” said Golden.