Obama trades war on drugs along the Mexico border for trade war?

My friend Marc has posted an article on the recent row between Mexico and United States over trucking access. It's a great post, and Marc does an excellent job of defending free trade. If one has to take issue with the piece at all, it could be said that it leads one to believe that the Obama administration was the cause of the crisis, rather than Congress. In point of fact, the Congressional measure that ignited the conflict has been smouldering throughout the Clinton and Bush administrations. But I do think that Marc get's it right when he says the Obama administration should act.

This is an important issue for the Obama administration. First, the conflict represents a test piece for his administration – reconciling the interests of those supporters opposed to NAFTA with the administration's commitment to free trade will require delicacy and a strong hand. Unfortunately, as Justin Webb points out, if the Obama administration does attempt to establish a new program facilitating trucking between the countries, it will force him to spend politial capital at a precarious point in his administration. Perhaps Mr. Webb is correct when he claims that “the trucks won't roll.”

Although Mr. Webb may capture the difficulties at home, I think his post fails to consider what the implications of inaction would have internationally. Here, I agree with Marc's contention that a failure to act decisively would represent a mistake on the part of the administration. Even if the sanctions don't escalate into a full trade war between the United States and its neighbor to the south, the Obama administration should be cautious: if the United States fails to nip protectionism in the bud, it sets a dangerous precedent for the G20 summit next month.

The summit should be interesting to watch. Members of the G20 met for a preliminary meeting last weekend in London, and talks of rifts between the industrialized countries have already made rounds on the blogosphere. Trucking, Mexic, Nafta - how will this crisis in North America plays itself out abroad?