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The opinions of individual BTA Border Blog contributors don't necessarily reflect the editorial position of Border Trade Alliance as a whole.

Dec 08

Border Trade Alliance Applauds GSA Move to Restore U.S. Border Ports Division

Published by Policy.
in Advocacy, Infrastructure, Border News, Press Releases. 1 Comment

Leading cross-border trade group protested key border infrastructure office’s closing this summer

PHOENIX – The Border Trade Alliance (BTA) today applauded a decision by the General Services Administration to reinstate the land border ports of entry office it shuttered earlier this summer.

The division’s closing came on the heels of the routing of millions of dollars in stimulus funds to improvements at small, low-traffic land border ports of entry earlier this year, while more pressing needs at high volume ports went unmet.

“After what has been in many ways a disappointing year for border communities seeking upgrades to their outdated and overburdened port facilities, this comes as very welcome news,” BTA Chair Kathy Neal said.  “The BTA was very vocal in its opposition to the way financial resources were being directed to border infrastructure needs, so we’re pleased that it looks like Washington is listening.”

New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman was key in urging GSA to reconsider its earlier organizational decision, and many other elected officials throughout the border region also voiced their displeasure with GSA’s move earlier this year.

“Sen. Bingaman deserves the thanks of all border communities for his commitment to seeing that our nation’s busiest land border ports of entry get the resources they need,” Neal said.  “Our government must recognize that our ports of entry should foster the efficient movement of legitimate trade and travel in addition to meeting our nation’s security needs, and should do so in as fiscally responsible a way as possible.”

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Dec 08

Border Trade Alliance Congratulates Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas on GSA Appointment

Published by Policy.
in Infrastructure, Border News, Press Releases. 0 Comments

Leading border trade group applauds move to inject real-world border experience into key infrastructure agency

PHOENIX – The Border Trade Alliance (BTA) today congratulated Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas on being named as the new Region 7 administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration.

The BTA is especially keen on the hiring because of the influence Judge Salinas could have over border region infrastructure, specifically at the land border ports of entry.

“The Obama Administration made a great choice with its decision to name Judge Salinas as administrator for Region 7,” Border Trade Alliance Chair Kathy Neal said.  “While Hidalgo County is losing a fine county judge, the country - and border communities specifically - are gaining the expertise of someone who has the potential to make a significant impact in the area of border port facilities. We are hopeful that hiring someone from the border region will mean that GSA is sensitive to our area’s unique infrastructure needs.”

The BTA is a longstanding advocate for the development of land border ports of entry that meet not only the country’s security needs but that also facilitate the speedy passage of legitimate trade and travel.

Congressmen Solomon Ortiz and Henry Cuellar recommended Judge Salinas for the GSA post.

“The BTA also wants to thank Congressmen Ortiz and Cuellar for making this key recommendation,” Neal said. “They’re looking out not only for their constituents, but for the entire border.”

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Jul 08

BTA & California - Baja California Groups Press for Local Input in Border Crossing Planning

Published by PR.
in Advocacy, Environ & Health, Infrastructure. 1 Comment
sanysidro.jpg

 

Border Trade Alliance, San Ysidro Smart Border Coalition, and Local Business Urge the California U.S. Senate Delegation to Direct GSA to Involve Local Stakeholders in Port Design

Washington D.C. July 7, 2009 - Border Trade Alliance (BTA) joined the San Ysidro Smart Border Coalition, represented by the leaders from the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce and Casa Familiar, in Washington, to urge California Senators Feinstein and Boxer to ensure that local government and businesses are involved in the design and planning process for construction to existing and new land border ports of entry.

Local border stakeholders from the San Diego region and nationwide remain very concerned that the federal agency responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of most U.S. land ports of entry, the General Service Administration’s (GSA), has “lost sight” of a number of previously negotiated project initiatives in the large-scale reconfiguration of the San Ysidro Port of Entry (SYPOE), the World’s busiest land border crossing.

Lack of community planning in incorporating community-supported pedestrian, parking and transit design elements, and accommodating existing businesses before beginning construction at San Ysidro or any other land ports of entry, means a failure to maximize efficiency and the benefit to economy - one of the primary goals of port development.

Whether through direct retail sales for border businesses or state and local tax revenue, border state economies like California are directly impacted by land ports.  Combined, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows Southern California ports of entry processed 1,178,954 trucks, 28,308,158 personal vehicles, and 15,064,432 pedestrians in 2008 alone. According to a 2005 study on “The Economic Impact of the Mexico-California Relationship,” conducted by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, 177,000 California jobs were supported by state exports to Mexico with an additional 17,000 jobs generated as the result of Mexican tourism to the state.

“Local border communities are uniquely positioned to bring real-world working solutions and insights to port projects - they live with it everyday.” stated BTA President Maria Luisa O’Connell,  “They’re heavily invested in the success of new and upgraded land ports as it directly impacts their bottom lines and lives.”  Read More →

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Jul 01

BTA Pressing for Border Priorities in Federal Spending Bill

Published by PR.
in Advocacy, Infrastructure, Legislation. 2 Comments
111th-congress, Border Infrastrucutre, WHTI, economic-stimulus, Border Trade Alliance, border security, DHS, GSA, CBP

 

Border Trade Alliance Urges Congressional Attention to Continued Underfunding of Aged Land Ports and Border Security Initiatives

Washington D.C. July 1, 2009 - Today, Border Trade Alliance (BTA) pressed the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to ensure secure trade and travel at our borders is made a priority, in-line with the $830 billion in annual economic activity it generates, in upcoming federal spending bills.

Currently, the House and Senate versions of the FY10 DHS Appropriations bill are absent funding for critical land port infrastructure upgrades and may fail to match the President’s budget request for previously mandated border security initiatives. This combination of budgetary shortfalls threatens to undermine the secure movement of more than 45.7 million pedestrians, 10.7 million commercial trucks, and 107.5 million personal vehicles - to a sum of over 3/4 of a trillion in economic activity at our land borders. In 2008, Michigan alone handled nearly $67 billion in surface trade with Canada.

Most U.S. land ports were built half a century or more ago without the adequate infrastructure to handle the tremendous growth in trade and implementation of the many layers of security now in place at all U.S. land ports of entry. BTA is urging Congress to address the continued need for more capacity on our bridges, more cargo and passenger lanes at our land ports of entry, and a greater number of staffed inspection booths to securely and efficiently facilitate the tremendous volume of trade and travel at our ports.

“Clearly, with studies showing that U.S-Mexico cross-border delays cost $716 million in output losses and 3,600 jobs in labor losses in California alone, solutions to these problems would pay for themselves.”, said BTA President Maria Luisa O’Connell. “Our border states, and the nation at large, should not have to continue to bare the burdens of the historic underfunding of our land ports.”
Read More →

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Jun 03

U.S. Border Ports Division Eliminated Prior to Obama’s GSA Administrator Confirmation Tomorrow

Published by Director of Policy.
in Advocacy, Infrastructure. 0 Comments
GSA Land ports
US-Border Land Port Congestion
Border Trade Alliance Urges Nominee to Outline Plans to Ensure GSA Addresses Critical Border Ports Infrastructure Upgrades

Washington D.C. - Border Trade Alliance (BTA) strongly urges Ms. Martha N. Johnson, President Obama’s nominee to head the General Services Administration (GSA) to outline her intention to lead GSA in upgrading land border infrastructure during her June 3rd confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.  Last week, border communities and businesses were shocked by the GSA decision to eliminate their Land Port of Entry Division, the division responsible for U.S. border land ports.

In 2008, U.S. border land ports were responsible for facilitating more than $830 billion in cross-border trade and processed 45.7 million pedestrians, more than 10.7 million trucks and more than 107.5 million personal vehicles.  The sustained growth of North American land border trade is limited by overburdened and outdated infrastructure at U.S. land ports, most of which were built forty years ago and not designed to handle the volume of trade or the current security procedures conducted at our borders.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided GSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with $720 million for land port infrastructure upgrades.  However, the majority of the projects funded by GSA and CBP were at ports of entry with low crossing volumes, continuing the ongoing need for additional federal investment in infrastructure at our nation’s busiest ports.

BTA calls upon Ms. Johnson to respond to the following concerns during her confirmation testimony: Read More →

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Apr 02

GSA Plans $300m in Border Port Upgrades Aid Secure Trade

Published by Policy.
in Advocacy, Infrastructure, Press Releases. 0 Comments

Border ports photo for GSA post

 

Federal stimulus funds move towards addressing critical border port upgrades, but more long-term investment is needed to address increasing trade and security demands at the border.

Yesterday, the General Services Administration (GSA) submitted details to the U.S. Congress, on a proposed plan for border land port infrastructure spending, as approved under the recently enacted economic stimulus measure, H.R. 1 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  GSA was appropriated $300 million and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was allotted $420 million toward land port infrastructure upgrades as part of H.R. 1.

Border Trade Alliance (BTA) pressed Congress last year to include federal funding for land border crossing upgrades and resources to support the hundreds of thousands of jobs that depend on the $830 billion in cross-border economic activity conducted at U.S. shared borders with Canada and Mexico.  While the BTA is pleased that the U.S. Congress appropriated $720 million for border ports to GSA and CBP in the economic stimulus, a commitment to sustained investment in upgrading the U.S.’s decades-old, overburdened ports is essential to future economic growth and security.

The majority of U.S. border crossings were not designed to handle the volume of trade that has resulted with the success of the North American Free Trade Agreement or the increased security operations that have been brought online since 2001.  While the economic downturn has reduced the volume of crossings at many U.S. land ports, the value of cross-border North American trade last year rose to a record $830 billion, due largely to growth in U.S. exports to Canada and Mexico.
“The BTA appreciates that Congress and the Administration approved $720 million in the stimulus bill for much-needed border crossing infrastructure upgrades,” notes Erin Martin Ward, Chair of the BTA, “We need continued leadership at the federal level to ensure that the tremendous growth in NAFTA trade and the economic activity it has generated can be sustained.  Canada and Mexico are the U.S.’s largest two export markets and we cannot afford to overlook the additional funding needed to upgrade our land ports to facilitate their critical contribution to our national economy and our security.”

GSA’s announced plan for spending the $300 million include funding for the following port infrastructure projects ($1,000s USD): Read More →

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Feb 06

BTA & Heritage Foundation Host Bi-Partisan Event on Border Port Needs

Published by Events.
in Advocacy. 0 Comments
 Line of trucks at Mariposa Port of Entry
Trucks lined up at Mariposa/Nogales Port of Entry
Cross-Border Trade Contribution Critical to National Economy as California Land Port Congestion Alone Cost US 55,675 Jobs

Border Trade Alliance (BTA) and The Heritage Foundation are jointly hosting the event, “Facilitating Trade and Travel at America’s Ports of Entry,” to continue building bi-partisan support in addressing the urgent need to alleviate congestion at our nation’s underfunded and overburdened land border ports of entry (POEs), on Monday, February 9, 2009 from 11:00 am -12:00 pm EST at the Heritage Foundation’s Allison Auditorium in Washington, D.C.

Watch the event live 11 EST

Despite supporting nearly $800 billion in annual cross-border economic activity, years of inattention and underinvestment, have resulted in POEs along both the northern and southern borders that are clogged and inefficient. Trade is stifled, North American relations are strained, security is compromised, and the economic vitality of the border regions and our nation is being impaired.

In 2007, cross-border delays at California land ports alone, resulted in an annual “Output Loss” in “personal travel and freight movements” at a cost of 5.35 billion dollars and 55,675 jobs for the United States, according to the California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS). Read More →

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Nov 17

BTA Urges Inclusion of Port Infrastructure Funding in Economic Stimulus Legislation

Published by Accounting.
in Advocacy, Infrastructure, Legislation. 2 Comments
Expedited Delivery of Critical Border Infrastructure Necessary to Sustain Positive Sector of National Economy

Monday, November 17, 2008, Phoenix, AZ - The Border Trade Alliance (BTA) urges Congress to support the recent call of border-state House members to include immediate funding for port and transportation infrastructure and resources as part of the economic stimulus package currently under consideration.  U.S. ports of entry, the cash registers of our nation, along our borders with Canada and Mexico handle nearly $800 billion in trade each year.  For decades, federal investment in infrastructure and resources at our ports of entry has not matched the need in order to sustain this growing level of trade.

Last week a group of bipartisan group of 11 House Members, including Representatives Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX), Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), Bart Stupak (D-MI), Bob Filner (D-CA), John M. McHugh (R-NY), Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Steve Kagen, M.D. (D-WI), and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), sent a letter to House leadership urging inclusion of $5 billion in infrastructure investment to upgrade U.S. land ports of entry to support cross-border trade, to-date a positive sector in a troubled national economy.  The BTA, as the leading tri-national organization representing border communities and trade, has long advocated for increased federal investment in support of cross-border trade and commerce and commends these Congressional leaders for raising border infrastructure as a national economic priority.

According to the President’s Export Council, nearly 1/3 of the $14 trillion U.S. economy is directly generated by trade.  The United States’ two largest export markets are our NAFTA trading partners, Canada and Mexico.  A recent National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) study reports that U.S. exports accounted for 61 percent of our national economic growth during the past year, despite our economic turmoil.  According to the federal government 12 million American workers and farmers’ jobs are sustained by trade.  The economic activity at our borders plays a significant role in supporting real job growth, working families and supports vital domestic industries like agriculture and manufacturing.  The direct national economic contribution of cross-border travel and exports conducted at the U.S. land ports of entry last year totaled more than $360 billion.

Growing cross-border delays, overburdened and outdated infrastructure, and inadequate staffing and associated resources threaten to undermine U.S. trade competitiveness as well as directly impacting the cost of doing business for manufacturers, transportation firms, and small businesses while raising the cost of U.S. consumer goods and reducing state and local sales tax revenue.  BTA feels that decision makers in Washington should be alarmed by recent statistics that illustrate the economic impacts of inadequate border infrastructure and cross-border congestion. According to the Texas Transportation Institute’s 2007 Urban Mobility Report, congestion caused urban Americans to travel 4.2 billion hours more and to purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel for a total estimated cost of $78 billion, with border regions being some of the most affected.

The BTA has continually recommended that federal resources must more closely match the economic contribution of our nation’s 166 land ports of entry.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection has stated that it alone requires $5 billion over the next 10 years in infrastructure maintenance and upgrades to its facilities at land ports of entry in order to support its dual mission of facilitating legitimate trade and travel facilitation and providing security along our borders.

The BTA has also consistently urged policymakers to better leverage the limited federal border resources by:

  • Ensuring that federal investment be re-focused on projects that alleviate the infrastructure bottlenecks at our ports rather than being directed to earmarks that have little if any national economic benefit.
  • Eliminating red tape at the State Department currently results in a delay of 7-10 years before a new port of entry can be approved for construction, with similar delays for improving existing infrastructure at many ports of entry.
  • Stressing the need for continual federal investment in low cost, high impact infrastructure and resource projects that serve to increase the efficiency of cross-border trade, travel and commerce while also improving public safety and security.
  • Utilizing private sector investment in border infrastructure.

“It is not too late for our political leaders to address the roadblocks at our nation’s ports that are impeding the growth of our export economy, which threaten to exacerbate an existing economic crisis of nearly unparalleled proportions and relegate the United States to a second-tier player in the global economy.” says BTA President Maria Luisa O’Connell.

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Jul 24

BTA Requests Federal Action to Support Economic Viability of Nation’s Ports

Published by Policy.
in Advocacy, Infrastructure, Press Releases. 1 Comment
Urges Senate and GSA to Expedite Delivery of Critical Border Infrastructure

Wednesday, July 23, 2008, Washington, D.C. - In a letter to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, responsible for Department of Homeland Security and General Services Administration (GSA) oversight, Border Trade Alliance (BTA) urged expedited fulfillment of infrastructure projects at U.S. land ports of entry (POE), vital to North American economic activity. Overburdened and aging infrastructure at U.S. POEs, combined with new security checks, is now unable to sustainably support an explosive increase in surface trade, up 172% since 1993, totaling $797 billion last year between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners. The result of which is massive congestion at our borders to the detriment of millions of lost dollars per day in supply chain inefficiencies, worker time, damaged goods, lost tourism, negative environmental impacts, and wasted fuel.

While Congress has appropriated funds to both DHS and GSA toward their respective efforts at our land ports, BTA specifically urges the Senate Committee to press GSA and presumptive Administrator Jim Williams, who may be appointed after a Senate hearing this Thursday, to utilize any remaining FY08 funding to expedite the delivery of current port infrastructure projects, as well as fulfill previously outlined strategies and commitments to furthering investment in upgraded and improved infrastructure at U.S. land ports to correspond with the significant boom in trade at our Northern and Southern borders.

“GSA has made great strides and taken positive steps toward delivering much needed border infrastructure, however we need to continue to stress the importance of land ports of entry to our national economy.” said Maria Luisa O’Connell, President of the BTA.

Earlier this year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Assistant Commissioner Thomas Winkowski, acknowledged the need to modernize land border facilities and reduce delays entering the country, calling for infrastructure improvements totaling a minimum of $500 million per year for the next 10 years to enhance and upgrade U.S. land border crossings in order to best fulfill its primary mission of facilitating the efficient and secure movement of people and goods.

BTA feels the Senate, GSA, and the nation should be alarmed by recent statistics that illustrate the economic impacts of inadequate border infrastructure and cross-border congestion. According to the Texas Transportation Institute’s 2007 Urban Mobility Report, congestion caused urban Americans to travel 4.2 billion hours more and to purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel for a total estimated cost of $78 billion, with border regions being some of the most affected. In 2006, El Paso had 749,000 trucks northbound crossing from Mexico. The average truck endures an average one hour delay, with delays of up to four hours not uncommon, costing shippers more than $100 million annually.

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Jul 14

North American Border Communities: Our Borders, Our Futures

Published by Policy.
in Environ & Health, Infrastructure, Legislation, Import & Export, Travel & Immigration. 0 Comments

Our North American Border communities reside at the intersection of the worlds most powerful trading partners, exist as a nexus of cultures, and operate as gateways to trade and travel, uniting us with our neighbors in our shared humanity and pursuit of prosperity.

As autonomous municipalities of varying sizes, governed by local, state, and federal governments within distinct geographic regions, Border Communities embody of a variety of specific constitutional elements, resources and needs, but they are not paragons; together they share larger unifying commonalities such as:

  • Impact North American economic competitiveness and national economies.
  • Locally affected by federal policies or programs driven by national perceptions.
  • Need legislation and appropriations that adequately address economic, social, environmental, and diplomatic impacts on communities
  • Collaboration with federal agencies operating at the border
  • Negatively impacted by under-funded or under-staffed federal mandates
  • Need to improve an aging and overburdened infrastructure at ports of entry
  • Desire for community economic development and attractive business climate
  • Directly benefit from increased cross-border trade and travel
  • Citizens that travel and do business on both sides of the border
  • Companies that operate on both sides of the border
  • Suffer from negative PR from inflammatory rhetoric surrounding political football issues such as illegal immigration
  • Inextricably linked with neighboring countries and communities on opposite sides of the border

Of the aforementioned elements that our border communities share in common, perhaps the most important for us to recognize as a group of nations, is the significance of our growing economic inter-dependence on our borders and border communities in an increasingly global economy.

For instance, in 2007, there was close to $300 billion in two-way trade between the United States and Mexico, or to put it in another context $1,000 per American or $4,000 for an American family of four. U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade alone totaled $48.9 billion. Our border communities share the burdens and the blessings that come with facilitating massive amount of cross-border trade and travel activity, and thus their role in our North American economy has never been more vital.

As such, their shared stakes as the managers, representatives, facilitators, and benefactors that understand the everyday realities of our trade corridors, is not to be underestimated. It is imperative that the federal policies, affecting cross-border trade and travel are shaped with input from the invaluable experiences of our Border Communities, whose first-hand understanding of issues unique to the border, can enable us to develop viable long-term solutions, not rubber-stamped, top-down, one-size fits all approaches.

BTA’s belief in the critical importance of our border communities and the power they hold in determining our nations’ economic and physical security, has led us to the development of “Our Borders, Our Futures: BTA Regional Meeting Series,” geared toward creating a dialog between federal policy makers and regional stakeholders, in order to develop sustainable common-sense solutions to critical border issues specific to the needs of a particular region.  The first regional event in the series will be hosted in partnership with the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation in the city of Yuma, Arizona on Sept 19, 2008, with one in Detroit, Michigan to follow later in the year.  To register for an event, or inquire about sponsoring an event in your region, please visit the BTA Events page on the website, or contact:

Luis Arellano at 800.333.5523

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