By Jen O’Rourke
A first of its kind trade symposium in B.C. is being held to debunk some common myths about cross-border trading for Canadian and American business owners.
The Building Bridges to Prosperity event is scheduled for June 10 at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel in Surrey and will feature such speakers such as U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson, B.C. Premier Christy Clark and Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts.
Greg Timm, general manager of Pacific Customs Brokers Ltd., said that the symposium’s main point is to highlight and emphasize the importance of the strong economic relationship between Canada and the U.S. and to clear up any misgivings business owners might have about the process involved in cross-border trading.
“Since 9-11 the overall idea in everyone’s head has been that crossing the border, whether for trade or personal reasons, has become more difficult and not worth the effort,” said Timm.
“What we want to do is dispel the overriding theory that this process is difficult.”
Event organizers are hoping to attract both Canadian and American companies doing business across the border and any businesses that are considering entering into cross-border partnerships.
David Cender of KNV Chartered Accountants LLP will be speaking at the symposium to clarify some of the common misconceptions U.S. business owners have about doing business in Canada.
According to Cender, one of the biggest deterrents for U.S. business owners considering trading in B.C. is uncertainty surrounding the introduction of the HST.
With U.S. business owners being unaware of Canadian tax rules, many will simply not engage in exporting their goods if they believe they’ll have to foot the bill for the HST.
This, however, is not the case, said Cender.
“Any HST they pay as a business, they can get back as a business as long as they’re registered.”
The symposium speaks to the declaration signed February 4 by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama.
It promises a shared vision to “cut red tape” on cross-border trading and travel between Canada and the United States while still maintaining a tight security perimeter.
Both Cender and Timm believe that an already strong $1 billion daily trading relationship between Canada and the U.S. can be further bolstered through current, proper information on the processes involved in cross-border trading and clearing the air of the prevalent misconceptions facing business owners.
“We’re still seeing a lot [of trade] both ways,” said Cender, “but I think we could be open to a lot more.”