BC’s trucking industry is concerned that implementing proposed new American legislation governing wood pallets too quickly could seriously hurt the province’s truckers.
The legislation would require that all shipping industry wood pallets be treated with heat or chemicals to ensure they’re pest-free before truckers can enter the United States.
“If you were to implement this solution in six months or something, it would … probably become the single greatest problem that we were dealing with at the border,” said Paul Landry, president and CEO of the BC Trucking Association (BCTA).
In early December, the United States announced it intends to require wood packaging material (WPM) being imported from Canada be treated for pests.
In its proposal, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) noted the introduction of exotic plant pests such as the pine shoot and Asian long-horned beetles have been linked to imported WPM and pose a “serious threat” to U.S. agriculture and forests.
The USDA said the U.S. is especially concerned about Canadian pests such as the brown spruce long-horned beetle, the European oak borer, the emerald ash borer and the European wood wasp.
Since 2005, Canada and the U.S. have required all international wood packaging material imports – save those between the two countries – be treated for pests.
According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, both countries have since concluded that the legislation should be extended to include WPM crossing the Canada-U.S. border.
Since the U.S. published its proposed legislation, Canadian stakeholders have delivered one dominant message: don’t implement this until Canada can produce enough WPM that complies with the new regulations.
Ottawa’s submission noted that in 2007, 90% of Canada’s WPM didn’t comply with the proposed new rules.
It added that neither Canada nor the U.S. have fully analyzed the WPM industry’s capacity to increase production of compliant WPM.
Therefore it’s unclear how long Canada would need to prepare for the new rules without disrupting trade.
It noted that, based on 2009 figures, $1.2 billion in goods cross the Canada-U.S. border daily.
Ottawa wants enforcement of the new regulations governing Canadian WPM exports to the U.S. delayed until at least 2013.
A submission from the Canadian Wood Pallet and Container Association (CWPCA) supports the Canadian government’s recommendation of sticking to the original 2013 timing.
It also points out that implementing the changes while the North American economy is still weak and cross-border goods movement is already down, will further hurt the WPM industry.
On the trucking front, Landry and Canadian Trucking Alliance vice-president Ron Lennox said the earlier timelines for implementing the legislation make the trucking industry nervous.
“We don’t really control our destiny here,” Lennox said, noting that the trucking sector doesn’t deal in manufacturing or treating WPM.”
Landry added that if the new rules are instituted too quickly or without being communicated properly, truckers would suffer the consequences if shippers are ignorant of the new requirements. He said truckers can’t always double-check the cargo in a shipper’s trailer before hooking it to their trucks.
“If you don’t know, as a shipper, what your requirements are, then the driver’s going to hit the border and find out that the pallets are not in compliance, and we’ve got a problem,” he said.
“The border is thick enough without creating additional problems.”
Landry added the trucking industry isn’t arguing with logic of trying to prevent insect infestations from crossing the border.
“What we’re saying is allow the people that produce these products the time to ramp up the supply that we need.”
He added he’s optimistic that governments on both side of the border understand the risks of implementing the legislation too quickly.
“I’m trusting in common sense that we’ll get this resolved.”