OTTAWA — Prime Minister Harper and President Obama are likely going to announce a new joint perimeter security agreement in January.

Essentially, it would close certain loopholes that threaten the continent’s security; and judging from most media reports, it will mean new entry and customs-clearance procedures for offshore goods and people arriving on to the continent by air, marine or land.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) believes that done right, such an agreement could be just what the trucking industry needs to get goods flowing through ports and loading docks and on to their destinations efficiently by, in effect, erasing some parts of the border.

And although the CTA is on record as supporting the perimeter, it has offered up a few caveats; first and foremost that programs that were put in place after 9/11 (like C-TPAT or PIP) not be ignored or quickly abandoned.

"The historical concern for the Alliance has been that a perimeter strategy implies harmonized laws and regulations as well as the outright—at least in some scenarios —- elimination of the Canada-U.S. border," said CTA Vice President of Customs, Jennifer Fox.

"A perimeter security agreement could "provide relief to the legitimate supply chain," the CTA said in a statement.

However, added Fox, "given that the development and implementation investments made by governments and the supply chain amount to billions of dollars, we don’t envision such programs [as PIP and C-TPAT] disappearing over the short to medium term.

"As such CTA would like to see in any upcoming announcement regarding a perimeter strategy consideration of extended benefits for existing trade security participants."

She said, therefore, that CTA would like to work with governments in any future discussion involving perimeter security concepts.

CTA has been engaged in consultations with both U.S. Customs Border Protection and Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) regarding border initiatives since before 9/11.

Although progress has been made, CTA said it "would encourage governments on both sides of the border to continue to work with the trucking industry in resolving ‘low hanging fruit’ issues that can provide immediate benefit to low risk commerce moving across the border."