By Nicholas Johnston and Roger Runningen

Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama and his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, discussed combating drug cartels, preparations for flu season and Mexican truck access to U.S. roads at the start of a two-day summit today.

Obama committed to resolving the trucking issue after it was raised by Calderon during a 45-minute meeting at the North American Leaders Summit in Guadalajara, Mexico, said an Obama administration official who briefed reporters.

Restrictions on access to U.S. highways for Mexican trucks has been a top issue for Calderon since Congress, citing safety concerns, ended a pilot program in March that allowed Mexican trucks to deliver to the U.S. everything from fresh fruit to auto parts. Mexico imposed $2.4 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods after the pilot program ended.

U.S. exporters have urged Obama to reach an agreement to put Mexican trucks back on U.S. roads and end the tariffs imposed on makers of paper, batteries, toothpaste and grapes.

Appleton Papers Inc. of Appleton, Wisconsin, and Mary Kay Inc., the Dallas-based cosmetics seller, are among companies that say the tariffs have damaged their business.

Closely held Appleton is a member of the Alliance to Keep U.S. Jobs, a group of companies formed to fight the tariffs. Other members include Caterpillar Inc., Smithfield Foods Inc. and PepsiCo Inc. Those publicly traded companies also want to stop the tariffs. Their products haven’t been hit by them so far.

NAFTA Trucking

As part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the U.S. agreed to allow Mexican trucks unrestricted access on U.S. roads, a pledge it has never fully honored because safety advocates and union officials say Mexico’s trucks and drivers don’t meet U.S. standards.

Calderon and Obama also discussed U.S.-Mexico cooperation on fighting drug cartels through the Merida Initiative, a three- year, $1.1 billion package of aid to Mexico that includes helicopters, intelligence sharing, and police training.

The U.S. is withholding 15 percent of the Merida funds until the State Department deems that Mexico has made progress on human rights. In today’s meeting, Obama underscored the importance of human rights and said Mexican progress on the issue will aid its fight against the drug cartels, the U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

After their meeting, Obama and Calderon joined Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for dinner. The three plan more meetings tomorrow before holding a joint press conference.

Obama and Calderon also discussed the importance of coordination before a possible rebound of the deadly H1N1 swine flu, the official said. The two presidents agreed to coordinate efforts to track the spread of the disease and prepare for outbreaks.

In 2008, the U.S. and Mexico had $368 billion in trade, making Mexico the third-largest U.S. trading partner after Canada and China, according to the Commerce Department.

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