CAN/AM BTA HIGHWAY TRADE CORRIDOR AND GATEWAYS
SEPT. 14, 1997 WASHINGTON, D.C. WORK SESSION SUMMARY

Speakers and their Remarks:

• Jerry Nagel, CAN/AM BTA Executive Board Member
• Harry Caldwell, Chief Highway Needs and Investment USDOT FHWA
• Emile Di Sanza, Acting Director Motor Carrier Policy TRANSPORT CANADA
• Commissioner Doris Meissner, Immigration and Naturalization Service
• Acting Commissioner Sam Banks, U.S. Customs Service
• Senator Conrad Burns - Montana
• Chief Inspector Donna Barnes, Immigration and Naturalization Service
• Bob Ehinger, Director Int. Trade Data Systems U.S. Treasury Department
• Senator Spencer Abraham Michigan
• Jim Phillips, Executive Director, Can/Am BTA
• Doug Waddell, Deputy Head of Mission Canadian Embassy to the U.S.
• Mickey Blashfield, Can/Am BTA Executive Board Member
  Closing remarks

This work session was the second gathering of the major North/South and East/West Connector Gateway Trade Corridor Highway Coalitions.
Jim Phillips opened the session reiterating that Can/Am BTA's Board and members include participants representing all of the major corridors identified at the initial March meeting. Therefore, Can/Am BTA has a priority interest in facilitating a consistent border-wide approach to set up a joint bi-national process of trade corridor and gateway focus and initiatives. To commence with Canadian points of origin and destination linked into the continental United States transcending the border as the beginning and ending point of the various north/south corridors and ultimately, as a second phase, the origin and destination points in Mexico for that portion of trade occurring with Mexico.
Harry Caldwell, Chief, Highway Needs and Improvement, USDOT FHWA and Emile Di Sanza, Acting Director, Motor Carrier Policy, TRANSPORT CANADA were introduced. Their participation provided insight on U.S. and Canadian activities.
Harry Caldwell provided an up to date status with details of House and Senate individual and compromise proposals and $ magnitudes including the Senate initiative which had been announced two days prior to this session. Both the House and Senate proposals contain corridor and gateway mention in differing forms with bi-national and multi-jurisdictional cooperative participation encouraged. Thus, the ultimate conference bill should include them is some form. Also described were the process and operational impacts of either "no bill" passage or extension of current ISTEA legislation for a period until a new bill would be finalized and passed. New legislation will occur, but the unknown is when.
Emile Di Sanza described the Canadian perspectives on institutional framework, the need of a border-wide macro/consistent approach, the need to enable, encourage and direct successful outcomes for trade corridor and gateway development and enhancement with a bi-national business plan component.
The unanimous consensus of the participants was that this plenary discussion should result in a stated initiative and action plan, which the balance of the work session discussions achieved.
CAN/AM BTA BI-NATIONAL (U.S./CANADA TRADE CORRIDOR LOGISTICS INITIATIVE
Private sector led, with Federal, Provincial and State Government participation as providers, macro scale (border-wide) consistent approach with regional specifics and issues identified.
Can/Am BTA has in place the unique capability of participation of the full array of involved parties to provide a balanced, cohesive, cooperative, objective framework for trade corridor policy development, evaluation and analysis. This is the essence of the value-added contribution of this approach. We are able to collectively provide:
what each individual and regional approach and status are, to communicate and cross local focus limitations to share successful elements thus:
maximizing results,
minimizing duplication,
minimizing time frames,
eliminating false starts.
All of the above embody the Can/Am BTA's unified transcontinental U.S./Canada involvement.
ACTION ITEMS:
1) Definition of proper role of Federal, State and Provincial Governments and institutional linkages.
2) Common vision of what constitutes an optimum Trade Corridor and Gateway.
3) Common terms of reference for Trade Corridor development business plan.
4) Produce a model of a bi-national Trade Corridor plan program.
5) Pilot the model (allows rapid review and deployment to all).
6) Hold border-wide regional conferences/work shops on hi-national (U.S./Canada) Trade Corridor and Gateway development and issues (include trucking, rail, air, ports, institutional and service providers, shippers and producers).
TASKS:
7) Formally request of Canadian Federal Government a public proclamation of north/south Trade Corridor infrastructure involvement and policy (to be crafted like the Shared Border Accord).
8) Resolution proposing within respective U.S./Canada policies that Federal Institutional Agencies allow and specify local and regional authority to their representatives to participate in their area of responsibility to enhance local operations and initiatives.
Both the U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments will be requested to consider this forum and outlined approach for funding support, in kind service participation and official sanction. This work session was the second gathering of the major North/South and East/West Connector Gateway Trade Corridor Highway Coalitions.
Jim Phillips opened the session reiterating that Can/Am BTA's Board and members include participants representing all of the major corridors identified at the initial March meeting. Therefore, Can/Am BTA has a priority interest in facilitating a consistent border-wide approach to set up a joint bi-national process of trade corridor and gateway focus and initiatives. To commence with Canadian points of origin and destination linked into the continental United States transcending the border as the beginning and ending point of the various north/south corridors and ultimately, as a second phase, the origin and destination points in Mexico for that portion of trade occurring with Mexico.
Harry Caldwell, Chief, Highway Needs and Improvement, USDOT FHWA and Emile Di Sanza, Acting Director, Motor Carrier Policy, TRANSPORT CANADA were introduced. Their participation provided insight on U.S. and Canadian activities.
Harry Caldwell provided an up to date status with details of House and Senate individual and compromise proposals and $ magnitudes including the Senate initiative which had been announced two days prior to this session. Both the House and Senate proposals contain corridor and gateway mention in differing forms with bi-national and multi-jurisdictional cooperative participation encouraged. Thus, the ultimate conference bill should include them is some form. Also described were the process and operational impacts of either "no bill" passage or extension of current ISTEA legislation for a period until a new bill would be finalized and passed. New legislation will occur, but the unknown is when.
Emile Di Sanza described the Canadian perspectives on institutional framework, the need of a border-wide macro/consistent approach, the need to enable, encourage and direct successful outcomes for trade corridor and gateway development and enhancement with a bi-national business plan component.
The unanimous consensus of the participants was that this plenary discussion should result in a stated initiative and action plan, which the balance of the work session discussions achieved.

CAN/AM BTA BI-NATIONAL (U.S./CANADA TRADE CORRIDOR LOGISTICS INITIATIVE
Private sector led, with Federal, Provincial and State Government participation as providers, macro scale (border-wide) consistent approach with regional specifics and issues identified.
Can/Am BTA has in place the unique capability of participation of the full array of involved parties to provide a balanced, cohesive, cooperative, objective framework for trade corridor policy development, evaluation and analysis. This is the essence of the value-added contribution of this approach. We are able to collectively provide:
what each individual and regional approach and status are, to communicate and cross local focus limitations to share successful elements thus:
maximizing results,

• minimizing duplication,
• minimizing time frames,
• eliminating false starts.

All of the above embody the Can/Am BTA's unified transcontinental U.S./Canada involvement.
ACTION ITEMS:
1) Definition of proper role of Federal, State and Provincial Governments and institutional linkages.
2) Common vision of what constitutes an optimum Trade Corridor and Gateway.
3) Common terms of reference for Trade Corridor development business plan.
4) Produce a model of a bi-national Trade Corridor plan program.
5) Pilot the model (allows rapid review and deployment to all).
6) Hold border-wide regional conferences/work shops on hi-national (U.S./Canada) Trade Corridor and Gateway development and issues (include trucking, rail, air, ports, institutional and service providers, shippers and producers).

TASKS:
7) Formally request of Canadian Federal Government a public proclamation of north/south Trade Corridor infrastructure involvement and policy (to be crafted like the Shared Border Accord).
8) Resolution proposing within respective U.S./Canada policies that Federal Institutional Agencies allow and specify local and regional authority to their representatives to participate in their area of responsibility to enhance local operations and initiatives.
Both the U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments will be requested to consider this forum and outlined approach for funding support, in kind service participation and official sanction.

JIM PHILLIPS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
CAN/AM BORDER TRADE ALLIANCE