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The White House, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and truck groups said Wednesday that a new policy by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (right) is creating a very miles backup of commercial vehicles carrying perishable fruits, vegetables and other products.
The policy forces trucks to undergo a state inspection after a federal inspection after crossing the Mexican border.
Delays have raised fears that the US economy, which is already experiencing inflation and supply shortages, could face a whole new set of problems, potentially raising the prices of certain products and making other items even scarier.
Freight operators are panicking about the consequences of the delays, as much of the United States’ production at this time of year is imported from Mexico. Abbott said last week that “enhanced security checks” on all commercial vehicles are needed because federal officials do not stop drugs and criminals from entering the United States. Now, truck officials say, few enter the country at all.
“This is not a regional problem or that the city of Laredo does not receive its products in grocery stores,” said John Esparza, president of the Texas Truck Association. “We are seeing delays that will be felt across the country. There are half a dozen truck units [affected]. There is the refrigerated segment of trucks, there are household goods, forestry, fuel tanks, merchandise goods – this is for General Motors, Ford and everything that comes from Mexico, our trading partner. “
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Strawberries, asparagus, avocados, tomatoes and other favorite spring queues sit in queues of refrigerated trucks, many miles long, while growers and shippers try to redirect the route and grocers struggle to find products elsewhere to avoid empty shelves in the evening. on Easter and Easter weekends.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Wednesday that Abbott’s “unnecessary and unnecessary” inspections of trucks at ports of entry between Texas and Mexico have disrupted food and car supply chains, delayed production, affected jobs and further raised prices. for American families. She said trucks were facing delays of more than five hours at some border crossings and that trade traffic had fallen by as much as 60 per cent.
“The continued flow of legal trade and travel and the ability of customs and border guards to do their job should not be hampered,” Psaki said. “Governor Abbott’s actions are affecting people’s jobs and the livelihoods of hard-working American families.
The CBP issued its own statement, saying the delays had become extreme. It says the commercial waiting time at the Pharr port of entry has increased from 63 minutes to 320 minutes, with a 35 percent drop in traffic. The Laredo-Colombia International Solidarity Bridge, which typically has an average 26-minute wait, has “reached a peak wait of 300 minutes and seen more than a 60% drop in trade.”
Abbott is expected to hold a press conference later Wednesday. He moved last week to impose new restrictions, arguing that the Biden administration had an “open border policy” that paved the way for dangerous cartels and deadly drugs spilling over into the United States.
He said Texas would “immediately begin to take unprecedented action to do what no state in American history has done to secure our border,” meaning that every truck will be inspected by the Texas Department of Transportation. public safety for trafficking in human beings, weapons, drugs and other contraband. .
The governor’s plan to get government officials to carefully inspect each truck means that up to 80 percent of perishable fruits and vegetables cannot pass through Friday, said Lance Jungmeier, president of the American Fresh Food Association.
This causes losses of millions of dollars a day for employers and employees who are inactive, he said, and customers are unable to load products from their suppliers in Texas. This also means that the shortage of transport is increasing, as the available trucks are stuck in a queue to cross the border, and all this will continue to increase the price of products in American grocery stores.
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“These trucks have already been inspected by customs and border services – scanned and X-rayed and drugged,” Jungmeier said. “These new inspections are unnecessary. In many ports of entry – Laredo, Far, Eagle Pass and others – Mexican drivers began to protest.
Abbott’s office did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
The truck line at Pharr Bridge is reportedly up to seven or eight miles long, said Rod Sbragia, vice president of the American Fresh Food Association and director of sales and marketing for Tricar Sales, a Mexican producer and shipper. He said between 2,000 and 3,000 trucks stood in line waiting to enter. Refrigerated trucks, he said, have about six or seven days of fuel to run their refrigeration units. Then the spoilage is certain.
Sbragia said nothing had crossed the Texas border in three days and that the trucks were packed so tightly that there was no way they could get out of line to divert. He says many workers in Texas are not paid right now because there is no product to work with and no trucks to load and unload.
“We currently have about $ 200,000 to $ 300,000 in production waiting in line,” he said. “And we are just one sender. There are hundreds like me. A million-dollar product standing on trucks that could end up breaking down. ”
The situation is volatile, said Laura Garza, logistics specialist at K&K International Logistics, a customs broker responsible for trafficking in Texas. But so far, she said, Mexican truck drivers have blocked north or south traffic on the Pharr Bridge, a №1 import bridge in the United States leading to and from Reynosa, Mexico, where about 2,000 truck crossings are usually seen. day. Traffic is also on the north side of the Free Trade Bridge in Los Indios, an international border crossing eight miles south of Harlingen and San Benito.
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“Transport companies say, ‘If this lasts 30 days, we can endure 30 days in protest.’ You will lose contracts and crops. Why does it affect trade in this way? It doesn’t make any sense. “Border communities depend on trade,” she said.
Beto O’Rourke, who is fighting Abbot for governor of Texas, said in a video tweet Monday showing a long queue of trucks in Laredo: “What you see behind me is inflation,” describing what he called “the real thing.” a price for Texans and all Americans ”on Greg Abbott’s“ political trick on the border ”.
– BETO NEWS – Beto O’Rourke in Laredo, Texas – the scene of Greg Abbott’s border chaos. “So this is a political trick more than anything else.”
4/11/22 pic.twitter.com/WsRX8ChpuH
– BetoMedia (@BetoMedia) April 12, 2022
Matt Mandel is the vice president of finance for his family’s company, which grows and supplies Mexican fruits and vegetables. He heard about the new inspections on Friday. Leaving the city, he hoped it would be over by the end of the weekend.
“But the problems have gotten worse and the consequences have gotten worse,” Mandel said. “And I don’t see an easy solution to alleviate the congestion we’re in.”
His company sells 60 percent of its production in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and elsewhere in the Northeast. The rest goes to Canada. He had three trucks scheduled to leave on Friday, he said, and it was unclear when they could reach their final destination.
“We will not know if we have any losses until this product goes through the entire supply chain. “When I have my name on eggplant and it finally looks and tastes like nonsense, that’s what people remember,” he said. “Eventually there will be spoilage and higher costs for all involved. It’s literally just guerrilla politics. “
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