The USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee recently laid out its priorities on the trade facilitation aspects of the United States – Canada Beyond the Border Action Plan, released by President Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper on December 7, 2011. Click here for USCIB’s statement.
Work had been underway on the Action Plan since the February 4, 2011 announcement by President Obama and Prime Minister Harper on the United States-Canada joint declaration, Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness. The Action Plan lays out a shared approach to border security and economic competitiveness in which the United States and Canada work together to address the safety and security of our shared border, while expediting lawful trade and travel. The trade facilitation provisions establish steps, which upon implementation, will reduce costs and regulatory burdens, significantly enhance the flow of goods across the border, and facilitate trade and travel.
USCIB has shared its trade facilitation priorities with leaders of both the U.S. and Canadian teams leading the implementation efforts, and USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson, met with Canadian Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast to convey USCIB’s support for the Action Plan and to emphasize interest, in particular, in Canada raising its de minimis level. USCIB applauds the effort to establish a long-term partnership between the United States and Canada, built upon a perimeter approach to security and economic competitiveness, and will continue to meet with officials on both sides of the border to engage in the implementation of the Action Plan.
U.S.-Canada Beyond the Border Action Plan
