Global Trade Alert

On March 16, 2016 the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced that it has accepted the official Mexican standard concerning the periodic inspection of commercial motor vehicles (NOM-68) and determined that it should be added to the list of programs that are comparable to, or as effective as, the federal periodic inspection requirements contained in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. This acceptance may facilitate the entry of Mexican trucks into the U.S. transportation market.
 
More precisely, the FMCSA will accept the Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM)concerning the periodic inspection (PI) of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). The Agency has reviewed NOM-068-SCT-2-2014 (NOM 68) and determined that it should be added to the list of programs which are comparable to, or as effective as, the Federal PI requirements contained in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). FMCSA's acceptance of NOM 68 means that Mexico-domiciled motor carriers operating in the United States must ensure that their CMVs are inspected annually as required by the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT). The motor carrier must retain a copy of the inspection report and a sticker/decal must be affixed to the vehicle in order to satisfy the PI requirements in the United States. These motor carriers will no longer have the option of relying on their employees to conduct inspections of the CMVs the carrier controls, using commercial garages for such inspections, or passing a roadside inspection based on criteria published by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) to comply with the periodic inspection requirements at 49 CFR part 396.