U.S. officials looking at adding border-crossing toll on Canadians

Canadians looking to do some cross-border shopping could soon be paying more at the American border.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is requesting a study to determine the feasibility of collecting fees from pedestrians and passenger vehicles at border crossings along the north and the south, which has the ire of at least one politician.

The study was first announced in the DHS’s budget, which was seeking funds for the study.

U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins said the fee would create a barrier to economic growth in his district of Western New York, which borders Canada and includes three automobile and two rail border crossings along the northern border.

“Putting up barriers to regional and bi-national commerce is the absolute last thing we should be doing if we want to grow the economies of Western New York and the U.S.,” Higgins said in a release. “I was shocked to see a proposal for a new toll at the Northern Border and I will fight to put the brakes on this shortsighted fee.”

He said he questioned the DHS’s head Janet Napolitano about the proposal at a House of Representatives Committee and followed up with a letter to her reiterating strong opposition to the plan. He also sent a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction and would need to approve the fee.

Higgins said the U.S. and Western New York economies rely heavily on the flow of goods across the border.

“The U.S. and Canadian bilateral trade relationship facilitates the exchange of $1.5 billion in goods each day, (which makes up) freight that is linked to over 1 million U.S. jobs.”

About 300,000 people cross the Canada-U.S. border daily, many crossing bridges in Western New York, Higgins said.

Passenger vehicle visitors from Canada spend an estimated $235 million annually in the U.S., of which approximately $133-million is tied to the Buffalo Niagara region, he added.

Officials at Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.

The Department of Homeland Security’s budget proposal:

SEC. 544. (a) The Commissioner of the United States Customs and Border Protection shall

(1) conduct a study assessing the feasibility and cost relating to establishing and collecting a land border crossing fee for both land border pedestrians and passenger vehicles along the northern and southwest borders of the United States; the study should include:

(A) the feasibility of collecting from existing operators on the land border such as bridge commissions, toll operators, commercial passenger bus, and commercial passenger rail;

(B) requirements to collect at land ports of entry where existing capability is not present; and

(C) any legal and regulatory impediments to establishing and collecting a land border crossing fee; and

(2) complete the study within 9 months of enactment of this Act.

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