Chefs d'entreprise et associations de gens d'affaires

"[The Canadian Trucking Alliance] CTA, in its comments on a proposed rule outlining detailed WHTI requirements, believes there is a lot of work to be done before the US will be in a position to implement the new requirements without disrupting legitimate travel and trade between Canada and the US...we fully understand why the US is tightening up document requirements for all modes of travel, said CTA CEO David Bradley. But at the same time, we must recognize that the economies of both countries are highly dependent on the reliable movement of trucks across the border. It is therefore imperative that measures adopted to implement WHTI do not negatively impact this flow. The US government must take the time it needs to get this right, rather than holding itself to an arbitrary, self-imposed deadline."

"The departments of State and Homeland Security must recognize the magnitude of the problems in implementing WHTI," said NTA Legislative Counsel Jim Santini. "In order for smooth execution of the land and sea requirements of the passport mandate, we must do more to maintain border integrity and facilitate cross-border tourism. We simply need more time for the agencies to be able to comply and to educate the public and those enforcing the rules."

"This is an important victory for cross border trade and tourism" says Len Crispino President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. "Delays at our border are already costing our economies billion of dollars and threatening tens of thousands of jobs. This move will ensure that we can achieve the appropriate balance between a secure and efficient border."

"Blue Water Area businesses enjoy a continuous stream of customer traffic from Canada via the Blue Water Bridge and St. Clair River ferries. Recent currency exchange trends make it increasingly attractive for our Canadian neighbors to shop here for goods and services - and we want that to continue."

"Federal mandates requiring new federal identification document(s) may jeopardize this positive flow of customer traffic at our border."

"Since the announcement of WHTI in 2005, the National Tour Association has been concerned about the significant impediment to cross-border travel for negligible security gain," said NTA Chairman and CEO Randy Julian. "We applaud the Departments of State and Homeland Security for recognizing the magnitude of the problems in implementing WHTI and hope they will take further action to allow for a smoother implementation of the passport mandate and help to minimize cross-border travel disruptions...Despite this most recent delay, NTA still believes that we must do more to maintain border integrity and facilitate cross-border tourism as we look to the implementation of the land and sea requirements," said Julian."

"Secondly, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative continues to be a major issue which we should monitor carefully, and we should write a similar letter outlining our hopes and concerns on this issue...But however we proceed, I think we'll want to keep a focus on making sure that this works well with our biggest trading partner and biggest number of border crossings every year."

"We are concerned that without effective implementation and communication, the WHTI will have a serious negative impact on legitimate commerce and tourism as well as on our diplomatic relationships with our two largest trading partners: Canada and Mexico."

"Travel and Tourism is a $1.3 trillion industry in the U.S., accounting for 27 percent of all U.S. Service Exports in 2005. While the industry has made progress in recovering from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, international arrivals to the U.S. have continued to suffer, declining at a rate of 17 percent since 2000. An exception, however, has been travel from Canada and Mexico, which has increased 10 percent. More than 56 percent of total international arrivals to the U.S. in 2005 were travelers from Canada and Mexico, accounting for 20 percent of international travel and tourism-related spending in the United States and totaling over $20 billion in 2005. Based on these 2005 numbers, just a 10 percent decline in travel from Canada and Mexico would result in $2 billion less in visitor spending."

"A passport is something that most Americans do not currently possess."

"Any way one looks at this, the result is that the cost of international travel by U.S. citizens is going to rise significantly under the new document regime. And new advance planning restraints are going to be imposed on a large market of students and senior citizens whose ability to travel on short notice will therefore be impaired. For many people for whom cross-border travel for leisure and business has been almost a casual experience, a new and imposing degree of formality will be introduced."