Canadian Official Issues Trade Warning

Canada’s consul general in Seattle Thursday bemoaned the lack of knowledge Canadians and Americans have about each other and the misunderstandings that result.

Roger Simmons said even well-intentioned initiatives can backfire if all consequences are not thought out.

For example, he said, a pending federal law enacted to combat terrorism and drug trafficking could create massive snarls at the border as guards examine and log the documentation of all aliens passing either north or south.

Even with double the manpower, Simmons said, delays at Blaine, Wash., could be as long as 12 hours at 6 p.m.

Simons also said the widespread belief that Canada unfairly subsidizes exports is incorrect.

An international economic organization estimates Canadian subsidies for wheat exports amount to $10 a ton, Simmons said. American subsidies exceed $50 a ton, he said.

“We should get to know what goes on in each other’s back yards,” Simmons said, before demonstrators stop Canadian grain trucks at the border, as they did last fall in Montana.

He said the massive trade ties between the two countries often get lost as Americans preoccupy themselves with their ties to Japan.

A single bridge on the Ontario border carries more goods back and forth each day - more than $1 billion worth - than passes between the U.S. and Japan in the same period, he said.

Rod Johnson, a senior trade commissioner who accompanied Simmons for his appearance before the International Trade Alliance, said the team hopes to build more partnerships between companies on both sides of the border in the Northwest.

Regional trade amounts to about $20 billion annually, he said.

Robert Fine, representing the Economic Development Commission for the Okanogan region of British Columbia, said there are plenty of opportunities in that area.

Americans have a misperception that Canada is an expensive place to do business, he said.

Fine said Kelowna’s airport is the second-fastest growing in North America, helped in part by expansion of the region’s aircraft and high-tech industries.