INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Chambers champion integrated border
The Canadian and US Chambers of Commerce, with the participation of business associations including the CTA and the American Trucking Associations, has released a joint report calling for immediate “short-term” solutions to the thickening border, in order to avert the congestion and delays that will once again tangle cross-border trade as the recession begins to recede next year.

Finding the Balance: Shared Border of the Future describes the overlapping programs, fees, and onerous, duplicative inspections that plague carriers and shippers. The report also proposes practical and achievable goals for change that both governments could implement within the next year, including:
• Improvements to trusted carrier/shipper (PIP and C-TPAT) and traveler (FAST and NEXUS) programs;
• Preclearance of goods and people outside the border;
• A single electronic filing system for imports and exports;
• Increased staffing, training and hours at border crossings;
• More ambitious targets for adoption of secure cross-border travel programs/documents (to speed up passage for all travelers);
• The introduction of secure radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology at Canadian border ports (already implemented at 39 US crossings); and
• An emergency contingency plan for movement of goods and people cross-border during full or partial closures.