Industry voices border concerns.

• Author: Ubriaco, Gianni
• Position: Mixed response to US-Canadian commitment to Free and Secured Trade Program (FAST

Each year, trucks cross the Canada-U.S. border over 1.3 million times; that is approximately one truck every 2.5 seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. All of those border crossings adds up to long lineups and time delays, not only for millions of American truck drivers, but also for the 400,000 truck drivers in Canada.

That is why Prime Minister Jean Chretien and President George W. Bush met on Sept. 9 at the Ambassador Bridge, which links Windsor and Detroit. On that day, the two countries announced the signing of a formal agreement committing the world's two largest trading partners to the Free and Secured Trade Program (FAST). The program is aimed at providing a faster and simpler clearance process for low-risk shipments, or shipments that are imported by pre-authorized importers and carried by pre-authorized drivers and carriers.

However, reaction to the program from various members of the trucking industry has been mixed. Following the announcement, members of the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), a federation of provincial trucking associations representing approximately 4,000 carriers, owner-operators and industry suppliers, were quick to respond to the new program.

"For our industry, this is a significant step forward in efforts by the two governments to introduce bilateral programs to expedite the flow of commercial traffic across the Canadian-U.S. Border," said the CEO of the alliance, David Bradley, in a release. "But, based on what has been announced so far, there are two major issues that cause us concern: the associated costs of truck driver registration/security checks and the need for border infrastructure improvements so that pre-cleared trucks can move quickly through dedicated lanes."

As far as the associated costs of truck driver registration/security checks, he reiterates that while he does not question the rationale behind voluntary driver background checks for those waiting to obtain expedited clearance at the border, he does notice a huge distinction between the Commercial Driver Registration Program (CDRP) and the proposed bilateral FAST card. The distinction being that a processing fee would be charged, which government officials have suggested will be $50 (US) or $80 (Cdn.).

In addition, drivers would have to renew their cards every two years.

Specifically, he and the CTA are proposing that the two-year validity period of FAST cards be extended to five years.

As for the CTA's concern over...