Truckers say new regs won't jam borders

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Americans returning from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and parts of the Caribbean will need more than a driver's license to get back into the USA beginning Monday — and efforts are underway to prevent that from turning into a truck backlog at the borders.

Commercial truckers in this border state, home of one of the nation's busiest border crossings, are among those who will be affected by the more stringent documentation requirements, the latest in a series of anti-terrorism efforts put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. Their imposition fulfills one of the key recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, a blue-ribbon panel of experts convened after the attacks.

In implementing the new requirements, the Department of Homeland Security faces a tricky balancing act: trying to secure the nation's 5,000 miles of border with Canada and 1,900 miles of border with Mexico while not disrupting trade. On an average day last year, Customs officers processed more than 70,000 truck, rail and sea containers.

The goal is "to strengthen our borders while we facilitate legitimate travel," says Joanne Ferreira, a spokewoman for the homeland security department's Customs and Border Protection Agency.

Truckers here say they're prepared for the new regulations.

"All my trucks are bar-coded, and all drivers have two forms of ID," said George Barrett, president and owner of Barrett Trucking in Burlington. During the winter his fleet of trucks crosses the border upward of 20 times a day to haul road salt south from Sainte-Catherine, Quebec, to Vermont.

The border crossing at Derby Line, Vt., was the 10th busiest for truck traffic along the nation's northern border in 2008, according to figures compiled by Customs.

The trucking industry is "well prepared" for the change, said Clayton Boyce, vice president of public affairs for the American Trucking Associations.

The Arlington, Va.-based association has been preparing for a year and a half and Boyce said many truckers already have Free and Secure Trade Program cards, known as FAST, to ease their border crossings. But he noted that other travelers, who may not be familiar with the new rules, "could cause backlogs at the border that could affect our members."

"Whenever the government does something new, there is always a good chance something will go wrong," Boyce said. "That's not a slam on the government. They find out, by doing, what the problem is."

Another Vermont company has a different strategy for expediting cross-border traffic: Land Air Express of New England in Williston, Vt., doesn't send its own trucks over the border, said Tom Spencer, the trucking company's vice president. Instead, it hires Maisliner Transport in Montreal to handle the border crossings.

J.J Maislin of Maisliner said the new requirements will have an effect on trade for small-scale companies that don't move freight between the countries frequently. But he's predicting only limited impact on larger operations like his. He expressed confidence in the federal officers at the border.

"Will there be hiccups? Yes. Will Customs be able to deal with it? Yes," he said.

McLean reports for The Burlington Free Press