Last week I spent time in Omaha, Nebraska meeting with American legislators as we discussed issues that are important to both of our countries. Much of the discussion revolved around making our borders work more efficiently while still being able to meet our mutual security interests.
About 400,000 people cross the Canada-U.S. border every day. There are about 11.2 million two-way truck crossings annually moving approximately $337 billion of goods. By any measure, the Canada-U.S. border is important to our two countries both economically and socially.
Because so much trade happens between our nations, anything that reduces two way trade or slows down movement has a negative impact on both Canada and the United States. In my discussions with both U.S. Congressmen and Senators, there was a clear understanding that we need to keep our border working for the benefit of both countries.
In fact, there are currently test projects designed to do just that. Moving commercial clearance of goods away from the borders themselves, by pre-clearing loads at locations away from border crossings, is one such initiative. In Omaha, officials provided some feedback on these initiatives as well as ideas for next steps.
There was also discussion on some very specific topics that could impact our trading relationship. A proposed increase in fees on trucks entering the U.S., levied by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), was one of the concerns raised. These proposed increased fees (in some cases by 200%) would hurt our trucking industry and our mutual trading relationship. I was glad that the U.S. representatives in attendance in Omaha recognized this concern and passed a resolution asking the USDA to reconsider these fee increases. This message will be taken back to Washington and I hope it is listened to.
The fact is that these types of issues, while sometimes isolated to a particular industry, can have a huge impact. And the impact goes both ways. Canada purchases more from the United States than does any other nation, including all 28 countries of the European Union combined. And despite our considerable difference population, Canadians make more than double the visits to the U.S. annually than Americans do to Canada. Those U.S. elected representatives that I spoke with last week understood the importance of our economic relationship and how it benefits the United States as well as Canada.
They also understood the importance of our friendship as nations. We hold a common interest in our mutual security and our common causes. Overwhelmingly, data shows that Americans have a positive view of Canadians and the positive impact we have as their neighbors.
That doesn’t mean that our relationship is without challenges. Disputes over agriculture tariffs and the Keystone XL pipeline are important issues that need to be resolved. But they shouldn’t allow us to forget how important our mutual friendship and business relationship is to both of our countries and its citizens.
