The Federal Maritime Commission is dropping all opposition to the Clean Truck Program at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach given the slowdown in trade and modifications to the program.

Earlier this week, the commission filed a motion with a Washington D.C. administrative law judge noticing its intention to drop its investigation into the program. The motion followed a June decision by the commission to seek dismissal of a federal lawsuit against what it said were anti-competitive elements of the program that would raise shipping costs.

The Clean Trucks Program banned trucks built before 1989, the first year of diesel pollution control, and will bar any truck that doesn’t meet 2007 emission standards by 2012. It also required truckers to receive a concession in order to service the ports; the port of Los Angeles further mandated that all drivers work as employees of trucking companies.

The commission said in June that it was dropping its lawsuit for several reasons, including a separate lawsuit by the American Trucking Association that enjoined the Los Angeles port’s employee mandate. It also noted that the ports had made several improvements to the program and that the slowdown in trade made it unlikely that the program would raise shipping costs.

In its July 29 motion seeking dismissal of its investigation, commission staff said “…after the actual implementation of those programs and the modifications and adjustments to them by the ports those concerns have not been borne out after several months.”

The motion must still be approved by the full commission.

“This is great news,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Geraldine Knatz in a statement. “Having all FMC matters behind us will allow us to better focus on our business matters in the coming months.”

The American Trucking Association lawsuit is still pending.