TORONTO — Canadian trucking companies and airlines are calling a new USDA levy on agricultural shipments nothing more than a cash-grab.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to tack on new user fees for air passengers and trucking companies to pay for yet another security requirement.

The U.S. says it is stepping up agricultural inspections of both travelers and commercial shipments at the Canada-U.S. border to prevent the threat of bioterrorism, pests, and disease, reports Canadian Press.

To pay for the $77 million enforcement plan, people traveling by air from Canada to the U.S. will be charged $5 US, and truckers crossing the border will pay $5.25 US per crossing, or $105 annually. The fees — which kick-in Nov. 24, 2006 — will likely increase next fiscal year, according to CP.

Graham Cooper, senior vice-president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, told the news agency that it appears the USDA intends to apply a user fee on all trucks regardless of whether they are agriculture products or not.

A spokesperson for the agency said such inspection surcharges have been in place since the early 1990s, and Canada has been exempt until now.

USDA says limiting the fees to commercial vehicles carrying strictly agricultural products wouldn’t be a viable option because packing material and the vehicles themselves could be “potential pest pathways.”

— from Canadian Press