WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) is applauding the US for showing flexibility for Canadian truckers who have yet to receive their Transportation Worker Identity Credential (TWIC) card.

It was expected that Canadian drivers would require the TWIC card to access US ports by last week. However, due to concerns about TWIC card processing times, US officials say they’ll continue accepting FAST cards until mid-July, as long as drivers can demonstrate that they’ve applied for a TWIC card.

“The flexibility shown by US authorities in this matter is to be commended,” said CTA vice-president, Ron Lennox. “It seemed fairly clear to us that there were issues regarding the processing of applications from foreign drivers, which in some cases ran to many months. Allowing marine facilities the discretion to permit unescorted access while these issues get addressed is a reasonable step that allows commerce to continue to flow without compromising security.”

Meanwhile, CTA is hopeful a longer-term solution will be reached, allowing Canadian drivers who have already undergone security screening to access US marine facilities while their TWIC application is being processed.

“Trucking is a high turnover industry, and we should be looking at ways to ensure that individuals who have already been security screened are not excluded from certain facilities while they wait for an administrative process to run its course” added Lennox.