CNÆS TELLIER URGES MORE EFFICIENT U.S. CUSTOMS PROCEDURES AT BORDER
Canadian National’s President and Chief Executive Officer Paul M. Tellier said U.S. Customs’ informed compliance policy sometimes substantially delays the railroad’s transborder freight trains.
Tellier suggested to attendees at the New York-Ontario Economic Summit in Buffalo, N.Y. this week that the agency should adopt a “system of enforced customs compliance.” He said U.S. Customs’ informed compliance policy results in the railroad’s high-speed intermodal trains being stopped by inspectors to examine specific containers. The result, Tellier said, is service and scheduling disruptions, which affect as many as 40 trains a day crossing the border.
“There has got to be a better way, and there is,” Tellier said. He outlined a four-step customs proposal:
* Harmonize the computer systems between Canada and U.S. Customs so that there’s a single reporting requirement, which would allow for information to be shared by officials from both agencies.
* Pre-clear all freight carriers that have a proven record of customs compliance — “a return to voluntary compliance.”
* Inspect shipments at destination, rather than at border points.
* Adopt a “North American” customs parameter for all offshore shipments reaching the continent, with a single customs agency performing inspections.
Tellier said that 52 percent of CN’s revenue is generated from cross-border or domestic U.S. traffic. The railroad plans to expand its cross-border business, pending its proposed acquisition of Wisconsin Central Transportation Corp. and the implementation of a new CN-CSX intermodal marketing agreement.