OTTAWA — U.S. Customs will streamline its border crossing transponder bill with an upcoming controversial U.S. Department of Agriculture fee for all truckers, says the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

Confirming what TodaysTrucking.com already reported last month, the combined crossing fee will be collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Starting Nov. 24, 2006, the single crossing rate for trucks more than doubles to US$10.25 and the bill for an annual transponder jumps to US$205.

The USDA Plant Health Inspection Service fee is supposed to pay for inspections of loads in search of food and flowers entering the U.S. which are labeled as products of Canada but originate elsewhere.

All trucks, however, regardless of whether they’re hauling cauliflower or computers, will be required to pay the fee.

At the behest of USDA, Customs will tack on an extra $105 to cross
the border. The fee is said to pay for more agri inspections.

OTA now reports that CBP will automatically track trucks a valid 2006 transponder. Drivers of these units will not have to pay the user fee at the primary inspection line. The carrier will be billed directly for $5.25 times the number of crossings, which occur between November 24 and December 31.

According to OTA, carriers renewing transponders for 2007 will pay the higher rate, and no additional bill will be issued. For trucks that pay on a per crossing basis, the driver will be required to pay US$10.25 at primary beginning November 24, instead of the existing US$5.00.

“The decision by CBP, which has been handed responsibility for collecting the US agriculture department’s fees, to roll both fees into a single transponder should reduce the number of trucks that will have to produce dollar bills, change and credit cards at the primary inspection line, but it is cold comfort,” says Canadian Trucking Alliance CEO David Bradley. “The whole program, from justification, to concept, to design, is deeply flawed in our view and adds to a further thickening of the border and the costs of transporting trade between the US and Canada.

“It is patently unfair to expect trucking companies to pay for the inspection of someone else’s goods, particularly when by APHIS’s own admission between 80 and 95 per cent of the trucks crossing into the US from Canada don’t even carry agricultural products.”

As TodaysTrucking.com reported last month, CTA and the Government of Canada have told the U.S. government they want the fee eliminated and replaced with a program that doesn’t put the costs of food inspections squarely on truckers.

Furthermore, the parties anticipate the fees could cause massive delays in the first week as unsuspecting truckers are asked to fish in their pockets for an additional US$5.25 when they roll up to the border.

“We ask that the formal rulemaking process for this interim rule be withdrawn,” says a letter from the Canadian Embassy in Washington to the US Dept of Agriculture. “We would also seek bilateral discussions to identify any 1egitimate issues that may exist concerning cross-border movement of fruits and vegetables and to collaboratively address them in ways that do not disrupt trade.”

(For more on how this issue affects all truckers, be sure to pick up the current November print issue of Today’s Trucking).