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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: Plan to speed trucks awaits president's OK [Mexican border] Plan to speed trucks awaits president's OK Jonathan J. Higuera Arizona's plans to speed up truck traffic from Mexico through the commercial border crossing in Nogales, Ariz., have hit a roadblock, leaving state trade officials fuming. The U.S. State Department has decided the expansion project at the Mariposa Port of Entry must receive a presidential permit, a potentially lengthy process that has delayed the project's start date. Prior to the decision, construction was scheduled to start April 1. For years, produce importers have complained that the delays raise costs, reduce shelf life for fruits and vegetables in U.S. supermarkets and hinder Arizona's efforts to increase its share of international trade. Normally border officials can handle 700 to 800 trucks a day without significant delays. The project to add two lanes and a pre-screening inspection station could possibly double that number, but more importantly shorten wait times to cross. State officials had hoped the $3.3 million project - $2.3 million on the Arizona side and $1 million on the Mexican side - to create dedicated lanes for pre-cleared trucks would be completed by winter vegetable season, when 1,200 trucks a day cross from Mexico into the United States. Trucks filled with produce coming from Mexico typically wait one to three hours at the border, but during the peak season, they can wait as long as eight hours, said Lee Frankel, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, a Nogales, Ariz., -based trade group mainly representing U.S. produce importers. Produce season starts in mid-October and extends through spring. "For us in the produce industry, there's a huge impact that's been amplified by rising fuel prices," he said. "Our competitiveness has been affected quite a bit. Without improvements at the port of entry, we lose our price advantage." Another issue is the freshness factor. The longer produce stays on a truck and not in a warehouse, the shorter the shelf life, he said. About a third of the Mexican produce is tomatoes, but cucumbers, squash, watermelons, bell peppers, grapes, mangos and other vegetables and fruits come up through Nogales. Gov. Janet Napolitano's administration has made improving infrastructure at Arizona-Mexico border crossing points a big part of the state's strategy to improve its share of international commerce, which has slipped proportionately compared with other border states, notably California and Texas. "If more trucks could get through here, it would be an opportunity for us to get more business," said Terry Shannon, vice president of Shannon Brokerage Co., a customs brokerage business in Nogales. The State Department's decision was based on an interpretation of an executive order issued last year by President George W. Bush.The Mariposa Port of Entry, one of two Nogales border crossing points, is the first land crossing to be subject to a presidential permit, he said. Previous presidential permits were issued for bridges, pipelines, tunnels and projects that physically crossed the border. The new interpretation could require many construction projects at border crossings to go through the permit process. "This is adding huge layers of bureaucracy and paperwork to the process that will delay projects and make them more costly," said David Randolph, border coordination officer for the Arizona-Mexico Commission. "Nogales is only the first victim." The State Department official said despite concerns, the permit could be issued "soon." "We're over 99 percent done," he said. "We still have to send out for comments for other agencies, but we expect the draft permit to be finished soon. I just can't define soon." "We've been blessed with outstanding staff at the federal and state agencies that monitor and enforce the programs regulating imports," Frankel said. "They've adopted as much as technology, systems approaches and traffic management as they can. But they can only handle 700 or 800 trucks a day without significant delays." The permit requirement has miffed Marco López, executive director of the Arizona-Mexico Commission, part of the Governor's Office. "It's another example of the federal government not understanding local needs," he said. López, a former mayor of Nogales, Ariz., said even if the project is approved in short order, the delay means construction will spill into peak produce season, causing further traffic delays. January, February and March are the busiest months of produce season. "If at some point it does break loose, it will be causing more harm than good, at least in the first year," he added.
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