A dead end for free trade? II

one of other powerful forces at work, most notable of which is the rise to parity of the Canadian dollar, and now the slowing U.S. economy. Canada-U.S. trade slumped in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as the North American economy suffered a mild recession. After a brief recovery, Canadian exports to the United States have slowly but steadily fallen since 2005 — declining 2 percent in 2006, 1 percent last year, and 5 percent in the first three months of 2008. U.S. exports to Canada, meanwhile have climbed every year since 2003. Economists Steven Globerman and Paul Storer of Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, concluded in a recent study that heightened security has added costs to cross-border trade. Their econometric research suggests U.S.-bound Canadian trade may also have become permanently impaired. There is little doubt truck traffic across the border is down, though the U.S. economic slump and the currency are likely responsible for much of that.

Peter Durant, the trucker hauling cookies for Kraft, said the frequency of his cross-border runs has dropped in the past year. His employer, Kriska Holdings Ltd. of Prescott, Ontario, diverted part of its fleet to busier Canadian routes because of ebbing cross-border business. Trucking industry officials say many drivers don’t want to ply the route because of all the hassles and delays. The volume of truck and car traffic from Ontario into the United States fell 4 percent in 2007, and the trend has accelerated this year. Between January and April of this year, the volume of trucks going back and forth between Ontario and the United States has fallen 5.6 percent, according to figures cited this week by the Ontario Trucking Association. Falling traffic has coincided with an explosion of new rules and requirements — features that often vary slightly from one border post to another. Combined with new programs designed to expedite trusted freight, a shipper’s life has become a maze of paperwork, new technology, and confusing acronyms. “I don’t even know half of them,” Durant acknowledged. “I have to read them up all the time.” He, like his truck and the customer he’s hauling for, are members of the Free and Secure Trade program, or FAST, a joint Canadian and U.S. initiative designed to speed known cargo and haulers swiftly through customs. This means his truck can use designated express lanes for low-risk cargo. Durant carries a FAST