In an age of international terrorism and illegal immigration, a well-functioning border is vital for homeland security. For the United States and Canada, however, it is also vital for national prosperity, for each is the other's largest trading partner, and much of that trade is in intermediate goods that support the bi-national production of finished products, most notably autos. Roughly 400,000 individuals cross the border every day, many with deadlines for delivering cargo or reporting to work. This trade and travel supports jobs throughout both countries.

Since 9/11, however, security concerns have trumped economic ones, leading to delays and higher costs for the cross-border movement of people and goods. Several initiatives have attempted to address these problems, most notably the U.S.-Canada Smart Border Action Plan and the Security and Prosperity Partnership. They have achieved some success, but the unfortunate reality is that the border today remains a source of considerable user frustration and economic drag.

At an event in Toronto on July 13 co-sponsored by the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, the Canadian International Council (CIC) and The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), Christopher Sands, senior fellow of the Hudson Institute, and expert on U.S. - Canada relations, presented policy recommendations from his report "Toward a New Frontier: Improving the U.S. - Canada Border". The report was also released with events in Detroit-Windsor and Chicago in conjunction with Brookings's Great Lakes Economic Initiative, an effort that pays particular attention to public policies and actions that can support the economic vitality of the Great Lakes region.

This report focuses on the policy process itself and on the conditions that shape its outcomes. In particular, it argues that progress requires taking greater account of the variety of ways in which the border is used by different categories of users in different places.

Drawing from a previous forum co-sponsored by the CIC and Brookings Institute on the current challenges and opportunities faced by U.S.-Canada border management, Dr. Sands has further developed analysis and prescriptions for improved relations. Recent concerns for the auto industry, "buy American" provisions in the U.S. stimulus bill and the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), call for greater precision in the definition of border problems and a decentralized process for addressing the varied and diverse challenges faced. In short, the time is right for instituting reforms that will resolve particular problems and open the door to a broader dialogue about a "new frontier" for the 21st century, a truly modern border that could be a place of innovation and serve as a model for progress on the management of other borders.

>>Download the paper here: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2009/0713_canada_sands/0713_canada_report.pdf

>>NEW: View Event Video Here: http://www.portalfornorthamerica.org/multimedia/toward-a-new-frontier

Related:

• In the News: More flexibility needed at border: U.S. think-tank
• In the News: Think-tanks team up to urge border flexibility
• New CIC Border Study: Technological integration the best ally for Canada-U.S. border security, new study reveals
• PNA Feature: The Canada-US Border
• Watch: Hudson Report: Border Policies and the American Presidential Election

(Image credit: Flickr user zemistor)