ARCHIVED - Can/Am Border Trade Alliance Conference

Ottawa, Ontario
May 8, 2012

Check against delivery

Good morning. It's a pleasure to be here.

This is a marvelous conference that just seems to get better every year, and I certainly want to commend the organizers – and President and CEO Jim Phillips in particular – for their hard work in bringing all of you together and in putting together such a thoughtful and timely conference this year in Ottawa. 

It is timely coming as it does just one month after our government tabled the Economic Action Plan for Jobs, Growth and Prosperity which will help to ensure our economy continues to create good jobs and a high quality of life for both our children and our grandchildren.

It is also timely, of course, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper and US President Barack Obama recently signed the Action Plan on Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness which – among other things – will also have a very large impact on job creation and economic growth in both our countries for many years to come.

Economic recovery and growth are big priorities for both our government.

This morning, I would like to speak with you about the important role that effective border management can and will play in our economic future and where I see things going under the Action Plan.

Ultimately, our collective goal is to remove the speed bumps between our two countries in order to encourage the efficient flow of commerce and legitimate travel.

This Action Plan is ambitious but achievable. 

When implemented in full it will be transformational. 

And it represents a new way of managing the border cooperatively that will suit us well in the future – because transforming the border does not end with these 32 initiatives.

Our goal is to have supply chains accelerated across our external and internal borders so that Canadian and American companies can continue building together.

As our economy, industries and supply chains become increasingly integrated, border management becomes even more critical to our economic success.

For some time now, we have not only traded goods with countries such as the U.S. but more and more we also build goods together with them.

Our economy relies increasingly upon firms on both sides of the border working hand in hand to produce a finished product through the intra-company trade of component parts or raw materials. 

Nearly $1.6 billion in commercial transactions cross our border with the US every day and some estimates value intra-company trade at one-third of all trade with our US partners.

That is over $1 million every minute.

Auto parts, plastics, equipment and machinery figure among the top ten bilateral exports for both Canada and the US.

The bottom line is that we need an efficient border. 

And in today's world, “efficient” means a border that is secure against threats; yet open to the legitimate movement of people, goods and services.

These are not mutually exclusive objectives.

Indeed, they complement each other.

A border which facilitates the legitimate flow of goods and people is also one which is secure against threats.

And, of course, a border which is secure against threats is one in which legitimate travellers and goods can cross more easily.

Today, Canada and the US share the world's largest trading relationship.

We share common values, common democratic principles and indeed some common cultural traditions.

Our border should reflect all those realities.

The goal of our Action Plan is to make sure that our border serves as a trade and economic growth facilitator rather than a business irritant and trade discourager.

That is one of our main goals.

Let me now tell you how the Action Plan is going to help us get there.  

When I spoke to you in 2010, I noted that our focus for the future could and should be on pushing our borders out – on making sure that we began to view the border as extending beyond just a physical line denoting the 49th parallel.

The concept of pushing borders out is central to almost every component of the Action Plan and especially important when it comes to talking about how we plan to accelerate and secure our supply chain.

The Action Plan will move us from a supply chain based on multiple stops and checks to one based on the notion of “screened once – cleared twice.” 

What we will see is an integrated, multi-modal customs and transportation security operation, which will reduce duplication and move many activities away from the physical Canada-United States border while making the border itself more efficient.

This system will enhance the security of supply chains, starting at the earliest possible point in the chain and ensure the integrity of the "screened" cargo through to its destination.

Under such a system, goods arriving in Canada or the United States from overseas will be screened once at their first point of arrival. 

They would then be shipped directly to their North American destination without any need for further inspections or checks along the way even if they cross the land border.

Once the container or the cargo has been screened upon arriving at or in North America, there would be no need for further inspections.

That is the ideal.

 Both of our governments are committed to putting such a transformational system in place.

There are a number of things we are going to do over the coming two years to make this a reality:

We're working hard to finalize a joint strategy to address risks associated with shipments arriving from offshore;

Both countries are preparing to launch pilot projects as part of this Integrated Cargo Strategy.

In Canada, we will launch a pilot project later this year for inbound marine cargo at Prince Rupert Port destined for Chicago by rail and of marine cargo arriving at Montreal destined for the United States by truck.  The U.S. will be implementing a similar pilot project.

Our governments have committed to developing a common set of required data elements for all modes of transport for advance cargo security screening;

We are working to develop and evaluate options under which trusted traders could use alternate processes to submit their data and I look forward to hearing your ideas for this;

In addition, our governments are undertaking a number of pre-clearance and pre-inspection initiatives covering all modes of cross-border trade and travel.  

We have also committed to moving forward in order to transform the border concerns of our trusted trader and trusted traveller programs.

Such programs have always held out the promise of expedited and streamlined border crossing.

We are aware, however, that we have not yet put in place entirely, the processes and mechanisms to fully deliver on their benefits.

I have heard time and again about the need to further expand membership in these programs and to extend benefits to smaller shippers.

I have heard about the need to do away with separate membership applications for the Customs Trade-Partnership Against Terrorism Program and the Partners in Protection Program.

And I have heard about the need to align requirements and ensure that membership in one program is mutually recognized on both sides of the border. 

My counterparts in the United States have heard from many of you that we need to work together to enhance these programs and ensure that the promised benefits are more fully realized.

I want to assure you that we are committed to moving forward in this regard and the Beyond the Border Action Plan maps out how we will be doing that.

Our respective governments under the Plan have committed to adopting a common framework for trusted trader programs that will align requirements, enhance member benefits and provide applicants with the opportunity to submit one application to multiple programs.

As many of you know, we are using a tiered approach to achieve this.

Under tier one, our governments will harmonize two flagship trusted trader programs known as C-TPAT and PIP by the end of next year.

The changes we will introduce are designed to encourage new membership in these programs, especially among small and medium sized businesses.

Applicants will be able to apply once for both programs and will receive a similar package of benefits, such as access to FAST lanes at specific locations and an automatic enrolment system.

Under tier two, we will seek to align Canada's Customs Self-Assessment (CSA) and the United States' Importer Self-Assessment (ISA) programs to the greatest extent possible, while enabling members the flexibility to select the benefits that meet their business needs.

We will also seek to extend new benefits to tier-two members, such as expedited border and accounting processes and further reductions in risk-based examination rates.

Canada will also fully implement its Partners in Compliance program later this year.

For low-value shipments across the border, Canada will increase the threshold below which the customs compliance burdens are reduced.

This also means that shippers will be able to avoid having to fill in more forms and paperwork for NAFTA point-of-origin requirements.

Less paperwork for companies can and often does mean more profit, more time to focus on the things which business leaders and innovators do best and ultimately more capacity to help create the jobs and economic growth which is a priority for our government as well as for all of you. 

In line with the concept of reducing paperwork and facilitating trade, our governments have committed under the Action Plan to putting a system in place by 2013 which will allow traders to electronically submit all data required by any government agency through one easily accessible electronic window. 

The single window will significantly reduce the paper burden on traders.

Once the data is received, the government system will forward the necessary pieces to each department or agency required to provide a border-related decision.

This kind of common sense measure will make the trade process easier for businesses and also help governments in effective regulation.

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper noted last December, the Action Plan on Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness represents the most significant step forward in Canada-U.S. cooperation since the North American Free Trade Agreement.

It is a significant deal and one with the full support of the Prime Minister and the President.

The Action Plan focuses on a manageable number of priorities – many of them with deliverables in the first and second years.

I am very pleased to note that later today our governments will make an announcement related to the NEXUS membership.

For each priority, we have committed to ambitious but achievable results.

The Action Plan has also been deliberately designed so that it is clear which agency or department in each country is responsible for implementing the project and delivering on which commitment.

Finally, ladies and gentlemen, based on valuable input from industry stakeholders – including many of you– performance metrics are included for each initiative and a commitment has been made by both countries to jointly report publicly on the progress achieved. 

I want to stress, however, that we are not at the end of this consultation process.

Our governments need to hear from you as well as other business leaders and stakeholders.

We need your continued input on how we move forward to implement many of the measures I have spoken about today.

We've already begun this process through Town Hall meetings such as the ones in Toronto and Niagara Falls, New York in February.

I trust that all of you are as committed as our governments to further strengthen our ongoing dialogue so that we can work together to achieve the results we want and truly transform our border into one that will be the envy of every other country around the world.

Thank you once again for inviting me to speak with you today.

Date modified:

2015-11-26