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08/18/2006
Border Trade Alliance looks to boost initiatives
BY SCOTT SHAFFER , LAREDO MORNING TIMES

A primary goal of the nonprofit Border Trade Alliance is to assist in the efficient implementation of three major national initiatives, according to its director of public policy, Jesse Hereford.Hereford, who spoke at the monthly Laredo Manufacturers Association meeting at the Embassy Suites, said US-VISIT, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and the Automated Commercail Environment programs must be implemented properly or border business will suffer.

“Inefficient implementation of the three programs combined could create a huge backlog and long wait times at the border,” said Hereford. “If we have people saying ‘I’m not going to wait in line to cross the bridge,’ that will affect everyone.”

The BTA is a tri-national advocacy group dedicated to improving the quality of life for everyone along the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders, Hereford said.

The group is also working to develop a passcard alternative to the passport requirement proposed in the Western Hemisphere initiative.

The BTA supports a delay, until June 2009, in implementing a requirement that anyone entering the U.S. present a passport or Department of Homeland Security-approved identification. That would allow for more time to develop that alternative passcard, said Hereford.

Hereford, a native Laredoan and past staff member for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, encouraged Laredoans to join the BTA, whose constituency exceeds 1 million people along both borders.

Local BTA member groups include the City of Laredo, Webb County and Falcon International Bank. The alliance was founded in 1986 to address issues affecting trade and economic development in North America.