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BORDER TROUBLES * USA/Canada - Bottlenecks at the border are taking a toll on trade
400,000 people cross the border each day. As the sum grows -- and everyone thinks it will -- backups of an hour, two hours, sometimes much longer become more frequent
Cleveland,OH,USA -The Plain Dealer, by Frank Bentayou -July 20, 2008: -- When Henry King drove back to Cleveland from Canada recently, he spied the jumble of semis queued up at checkpoints at the border. With each trip he makes, the international law expert at Case Western Reserve University said, the backup seems longer... The shipping bottleneck is a problem that needs to be fixed, Henry King said, because it penalizes the United States, the Great Lakes region and Northeast Ohio, stealing money and stifling jobs. And within a year, new border security measures could slow commerce even more... King and many others yearn for a more streamlined process. That would mean modern crossings, less paperwork for truck drivers and travelers making business or tourism visits and, basically, a smoother, quicker and more hassle-free crossing. He knows the nations will have to cooperate to make that happen... On average, 400,000 people cross the border each day, according to the Canadian government. By various estimates, from $1.1 billion to $1.6 billion worth of goods make the trip every 24 hours, too. That adds up to about $460 billion a year, the U.S. government says... As the sum grows -- and everyone thinks it will -- backups of an hour, two hours, sometimes much longer become more frequent. Hassles multiply, ballooning the cost of shipping, interfering with just-in-time inventory needs and "thickening the border," as shippers say, referring to the decline in efficiency that more traffic brings... But Jayson Myers, senior vice president and chief economist of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, issued an important reminder: "The Canadian gateway ports plan -- and everything else we've discussed about cross-border trade -- all depends on cooperation between the Canadian and U.S. governments." ... He and many others note that there's not much time for working out the details of the new U.S. border-crossing rules before June 2009, when every American going to Canada will need a passport... (Photo by Don McArthur/Associated Press file - Scarcely adequate bridges and worn roads already stressed growing cross-border truck traffic between Canada and the United States before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In the days afterward, when this scene unfolded, backups extended for miles. Now, delays are less severe, but manufacturers and shippers fear slowdowns in June 2009, when the next wave of Homeland Security rules are scheduled to go into effect, possibly stifling trade between the neighboring countries)Labels: border troubles
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