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Apr 15 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Savage.

The American Trucking Association left ZERO doubt about how they feel about Gov. Greg Abbott's "wholly flawed" border-clogging inspection "scheme."

In one page statement they called it flawed, senseless and misguided.
“Governor Abbott is directly responsible for applying these new senseless inspections on our industry as well as the adverse impact they are having on the economy and hardworking Americans, including truckers," said American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear
Texas normally conducts random safety inspections on trucks that make it through customs when there are somewhat obvious mechanical problems with a truck. But Abbott last week demanded every single truck get inspected, adding hours-long delay at border
It's already brought sternly worded statements from the Texas Trucking Association (Abbott allies) and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a fellow Republican.
Under intense pressure, Abbott is moving as fast as he can to lift the restrictions while saving a little face. Wednesday he lifted them on one bridge near Laredo on vague promises for more border patrols from the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.
Then yesterday, he lifted the restrictions at El Paso checkpoints after getting more vague promises of stepped up border security from Mexican state of Chihuahua.
Now today, he's set to meet with Tamaulipas Governor Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca.

Tamaulipas is super important, bordering Texas for 230 miles between Brownsville and Laredo. MAJOR agriculture shipping route.

More on all of this here: houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…

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More from @JeremySWallace

Jeremy Wallace Profile picture
Apr 14
Gov. Greg Abbott announced more rollbacks of his aggressive truck safety inspection program along the Mexican border after truckers in El Paso suffered through more than 6 hours of delays on Thursday trying to get into the U.S. with goods and supplies.
Abbott said Chihuahua Gov Campos has "detailed a plan to secure the Mexican side of the border" and as a result he is allowing "the bridge between Chihuahua and Texas will return to normal immediately."
Texas DPS already makes random inspections of trucks after they pass through customs for safety reasons (tires, brakes, etc), but last week Abbott ordered them to stop all trucks, resulting in hours-long delays in getting goods into the US.
Read 6 tweets
Jeremy Wallace Profile picture
Apr 13
Gov. Greg Abbott eases truck inspections at one key border crossing in Laredo in exchange for promises of more border security in one Mexican state. houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas… via @houstonchron
But don't think for a minute that Abbott is admitting a mistake for causing traffic snarls that have doubled and tripled border crossing times for truckers and brought condemnation from Democrats and Repubicans. Abbott said the stepped up DPS inspections have made Texas safer.
“There may be Texans whose lives were saved because of the vehicles taken out of operation by what the Texas Department of Public Safety did,” Abbott said.
Read 4 tweets
Jeremy Wallace Profile picture
Apr 13
If you listen to Texas Take with me and @scottbraddock you've already heard me talk about how Abbott's actions are very Don Huffines-like. Remember Huffines saying he'd shut down all commercial trade with Mexico even if it hurt Texas economically?
omny.fm/shows/texas-ta…
Don Huffines ran against Abbott in the March 1 GOP primary for governor and was defeated. At one point Huffines said he'd shut down all 25 bridges between Texas and Mexico to block $250 billion worth of trade coming across the border.
“This is strategic,” Huffines said. “Until they secure their side of the river and take it back from the cartels, not one truck from Mexico is going to enter Texas.”

Here's my story from back then: houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…
Read 4 tweets
Jeremy Wallace Profile picture
Apr 13
Unforced error?

After months of having Democrats on defense, Gov. Greg Abbott's border inspections have given Democrats a political lifeline on an issue they've just been getting killed on.

It's not just Beto O'Rourke. Check out the White House joyously jumping into the fray.
“Governor Abbott’s actions are impacting people’s jobs, and the livelihoods of hardworking American families,” Jen Psaki said.

Abbott's truck inspections have snarled trucking into the US, giving Dems chance to point out how overzealous border rules are bad economics.
The weird thing is, Abbott knew his truck inspections could only be for mechanical problems. DPS can't open cargo shipments for drugs or human smuggling, which Customs already does.

Yet they still did it. Here's Abbott's letter explaining why in his own words:
Read 5 tweets
Jeremy Wallace Profile picture
Apr 13
Is Gov Greg Abbott about to relent?

Looks like it. A day after Nuevo Leon Gov Garcia said he talked to Abbott and reached a deal to ease truck inspections that have snarled truck traffic, the 2 are meeting in Laredo later today.

Here's current view of truck backup near Laredo Image
Abbott's office hasn't said what the 2 p.m. meeting is about, but Garcia has said he spoke with Abbott earlier this week on behalf of business leaders and custom agents amid hours long delays to get across key bridges into Texas.

More here:
houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…
At the Columbia Solidarity Bridge in Laredo, trucks were facing a 3 hour wait in what normally takes about 30 minutes.

Abbott and Garcia are meeting near the Columbia Solidarity Bridge today.
Read 4 tweets
Jeremy Wallace Profile picture
Apr 12
Texas border crossings are a mess for commercial truck traffic right now
- In El Paso, on avg supposed to take 38 mins to get trucks over. Instead over 2 hours.
-In Laredo (pictured below), wait just hit 3 hrs
Why? Many blaming Gov. Abbott and his new truck inspections Trucks backed up in Mexico waiting to get into Laredo via Ci
Abbott last week announced as part of beefed-up border security plan he was increasing safety inspection of trucks coming from Mexico. These aren't cargo inspections. We're talking brakes, tires and headlight stuff.
Texas DPS just told me they've inspected 3,400+ trucks and taken over 800 off the road for "serious safety" reasons as directed by Abbott.

But at what cost? Trucking companies and shipping industry people say it's making supply chain even worse
Read 5 tweets

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