A North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panel rejected a U.S. law limiting Mexican trucks’ access to the U.S. market, according to a Mexican official. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has called on the Clinton administration to maintain the 5-year-old limit. The interim ruling raises one of the heated disputes concerning NAFTA, the 1993 agreement that virtually eliminated duties among the United States, Mexico, and Canada. U.S. unions have opposed the agreement because of its threat to U.S. jobs. Under NAFTA rules, if the U.S. restricts Mexican trucks from crossing the U.S. border, the two countries must agree on how much the United States must pay Mexico as equal compensation for the damage to the Mexican trucking industry caused by the restriction. If an agreement can’t be reached, Mexico could place sanctions on U.S. goods and services equal to the amount of the damage. Agricultural products, industrial goods and services are potential targets, according to Luis de la Calle, Mexico’s deputy trade minister. The ruling would allow Mexican trucks to bring goods throughout the United States without going through the same safety inspections required for U.S. hauling firms.