International Trade committee  I just wanted to make a distinction between the time it takes for customs clearance and the time it actually takes to get to the customs booth, because I think generally what we're measuring is the time for customs clearance. Those times do tend to be a little bit longer going i

International Trade committee  Right.

International Trade committee  They're really separate issues. Pre-clearance involves U.S. officials being on the Canadian side of the border. There's e-manifest going in both directions. Currently, e-manifest going into the United States is already being implemented. It involves transmitting data in advance t

International Trade committee  Well, it's not in the United States. The information is transmitted to the United States, and then the driver arrives at the customs inspection booth. The U.S. has that data in advance. The e-manifest allows the U.S. to have that information before the driver arrives. It allows t

International Trade committee  Right.

International Trade committee  The issue of pre-clearance relates to space on either side of the border. We want to be able to expand inspection facilities, and that sort of thing, to facilitate the movement of goods. Unfortunately, in the case of the Peace Bridge there's limited space on the U.S. side of the

International Trade committee  Well, e-manifest will become mandatory. It's a program that's being phased in over time. Currently it's in place for maritime carriers and air mode. We're now looking at implementing it at the land border. Ultimately, importers will also have to transmit information electronicall

International Trade committee  The e-manifest program, or advanced commercial information, is actually one of the key priorities of our association. It's something that has been talked about for 10 years or more. It's not a new initiative. What e-manifest involves is the advance transmission of information to

International Trade committee  I think we obviously need to continue to build on the NAFTA. There have been a lot of changes in the global economy since NAFTA was negotiated. The negotiations finished almost 14 or 15 years ago. Certainly there have been significant changes that have taken place in the global e

International Trade committee  I will have to check into that. I will definitely check into it and get back to you, yes.

International Trade committee  Actually, one of the reasons I moved back from Mexico was that I decided it was getting too hot.

International Trade committee  The focus of our association is primarily on trading goods and the movement of goods back and forth across the border, rather than services. The service sector our association represents is largely service providers to that industry, the import and export industry. They're invo

International Trade committee  I'm not sure how long the surveys have been conducted.

International Trade committee  I think it's interesting. I was recently speaking with a Quebec company that actually sources their fabric in China and produces finished products in Canada that are then exported to the United States. We have to be careful when we talk about safeguard measures. They could have

International Trade committee  I saw it.