Stakeholders Pitch ‘Border Ambassadors’ Idea

(Today’s Trucking)

Once upon a time, the purpose of NAFTA meant reducing barriers for freer flowing trade. It’s debatable, though – considering the alphabet soup of security acronyms shippers and carriers face daily – whether that’s still true.

That’s why a group of Canadian stakeholders – led by Ken James, former MPP who’s now chairman of Blue Water Bridge Canada – want to make sure governments on both sides of the border don’t lose sight of NAFTA’s original mandate.

According to the Times Herald of Port Huron, the group is proposing that ‘special ambassadors’ for the U.S. and Canada are appointed to specifically address longstanding issues that lead to “thickening” trade at international crossings. The ambassadors, the group suggests, would report directly to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama and would be charged with auditing whether all the new rules related to the border are reasonable or redundant.

James outlined the plan in a letter to Harper last year and more recently unveiled the details to U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, during a meeting in Sarnia. “This thickening situation is getting worse,” James said. The issue “has to rise to the top of the heap.” Read more here.