Trade Group Critical of Resumed Texas Truck Inspections on Border

Truck inspections by Texas state authorities that resumed Dec. 13 are “once again causing severe backups and congestion and are harming supply chains during a season when shippers are striving to meet consumer demand and tight deadlines,” the Border Trade Alliance said in a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

The letter, dated Dec. 20, says the trade group had hoped the Texas Department of Public Safety inspections on the U.S.-Mexico border “would be done in a manner that did not disrupt legitimate trade. Unfortunately, it appears that the inspections are again causing expensive shipping delays,” the trade group said.

While “cross-border trade and travel efficiency should be balanced with security,” that requires coordination between levels of government, “which is why we oppose any state-level action that duplicates the inspections already performed by” CBP, the Border Trade Alliance said.

“The state should be working in collaboration with CBP, not engaging in a new inspection model that will slow the movement of freight, and that will only further stress the country’s struggling supply chains and put even more upward pressure on consumer prices during the holiday season and amid a time of high inflation,” the group's letter said.