21 July 2009

Border delays will return: business lobby

This article is excerpted from the 21 July 2009 edition of “globeandmail.com”. The report discussed in this article is the subject of a message to members earlier today, found at http://www.cscb.ca/050/rs_prev_e.cfm?ID=21831.

Dramatically lower traffic at the Canada-U.S. border owing to the recession has lulled authorities into a “false sense of security” that delays are gone forever, says Perrin Beatty, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

The congestion of 2006 and 2007 will quickly return as the economy recovers because not enough has been done by both countries to cut red tape and tie-ups, Mr. Beatty warned…

“If we had seen continued growth … we would be seeing a crisis at the border right now,” Mr. Beatty told reporters in Washington by teleconference.

Long-standing problems have put manufacturers who operate in both countries – including the ailing Detroit Three auto makers – at a competitive disadvantage….

The report points out that a shipment of 4,000 cars from Japan needs just a single customs clearance, while similar Canadian and U.S.-made vehicles face as many as 28,000 customs and security checks as they crisscross the border multiple times on their way to market.

Meanwhile, new impediments to trade have cropped up, including spreading Buy American rules on government purchases and mandatory U.S. passport and document requirements that took effect in June….

The report also pointed to potential new problems, including a proposal by the United States to impose new standards for wooden freight pallets from Canada.

The new requirement has “the potential to create delays for all freight crossing the border,” said the report.

Canada-U.S. trade is down nearly a third from last year, matched by similar declines in truck and traveller traffic. The report says truck exports to the United States are down 31.3 per cent from last year, while Canadian-bound freight is off 27.2 per cent.

The Canadian and U.S. chambers report lists almost 30 problems the groups say could be easily fixed. The recommendations include restarting a