U.S.-Canada reach border agreement

The U.S.– Canada border security pact reached earlier this year by President Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper is nearing completion.

Under the agreement, the two nations will spend$1 billion to build new border facilities and implement programs designed to make trade and travel more convenient.

The two nations have struggled to secure the northern border against terrorists following the 9/11 attacks without impeding the flow of trade and people across the border. It is estimated that $1.6 billion in goods and 300,000 people cross the border each day.

Business leaders on both sides of the border have lobbied to streamline the bureaucratic procedures, which they argue has undermined a critical trade relationship.

To that end, the Beyond the Border action plan is aimed at removing some of the red tape that has accumulated over the last decade and will introduce measures that will help improve communications on customs and security issues.

Both sides require different information for companies seeking to clear customs and the program will create a common set of requirements which companies have welcomed.

Other measures include a “one-stop shop” for importers who now have to deal with as many as six different government agencies, special visas for eligible business travelers, and synchronized planning at land border crossings, where there is now little international co-ordination.

Some of the programs will be in place in the next several months, while others could take as long as five years to implement.