ATA’s Spear Praise Trump for Championing Trucking Interests
ATA president and CEO Chris Spear. Photo: Evan Lockridge
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ATA president and CEO Chris Spear. Photo: Evan Lockridge
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Chris Spear, president and Chief Executive Officer of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), delivered a wide-ranging state of the industry address at an annual meeting today – promoting everything from proposed tax reforms to a pending mandate for Electronic Logging Devices, and Trump’s commitment to raise more than US $1 million for infrastructure.
In the past year, the group has met with U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and all 10 House and Senate Committee leaders and ranking members. But a clear highlight, demonstrated through pictures around the convention hall, was an appearance at the White House with 12 America’s Road Team captains.
“ATA in now fully engaged in reforming our country’s decaying tax laws,” he added, referring to the associations hosting a recent meeting with Trump in Pennsylvania. Citing trucks as “the barometer for the nation’s economy”, Trump at that meeting introduced a proposal for a 20% cut in corporate tax rates and eliminating estate taxes.
“With the president now championing our best interests, the entire nation is paying attention to what we have to say,” Spear said.
Meanwhile, ATA is supporting a coalition led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to advance trade policy – including that which governs truck freight between Canada and the U.S. “Trucks move 76% of the NAFTA surface freight, 82% of the cross-border traffic with Mexico, and 71% with Canada: our nation’s largest trade partner. I’ve visited our borders and can tell you first hand that our industry will be the first to feel any changes in NAFTA, good or bad,” he said.
Throughout the strongly worded address, Spear committed the ATA to fighting “anti-truck and amateur-hour advocacy groups”, and credited the group with helping to strike down “ill-conceived, special interest-driven Hours of Service rules from the U.S. Code.”
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