15 December 2008

[US] Pro-trade group seeks border bucks

This article is excerpted from the 15 December 2008 edition of “American Shipper”.

The Border Trade Alliance on Friday urged [US] House leaders to include $301 million in an economic recovery spending bill for upgrading Customs inspection facilities at land ports of entry.

The amount is equal to that in draft legislation circulating in the Senate.

The BTA, which represents border and trade interests, said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner that land ports of entry are too small or lack necessary physical capacity to efficiently handle growth in cross-border traffic. Land ports were the conduits for $720 billion in trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2007. The group noted that overall international trade directly supports more than 12 million U.S. workers and farmers….

Last month 11 border state congressmen urged that any economic stimulus bill include $5 billion in infrastructure investment for land ports of entry.

The $5 billion figure is Customs and Border Protection's estimate of how much money is needed to expand and upgrade facilities to meet today's new security mission and trade volumes.