Cross Border Pro

Is It Easier To Cross the Border

I cross the border about once a week to collect mail from my box in Blaine, Washington.  I usually cross the same day and about the same time every week.  Recently, I have noticed that I am hardly even questioned when I cross.  It has been a very long time since I have been sent in to pay duty even though I am usually in the States less than one hour.  Being a U.S. citizen and a former resident I still have connections and investments in the States have found it easier to have a U.S. address.  We also use this address to purchase online items for our own personal use from vendors that will only ship to U.S. addresses. We try to limit and time purchases so that in any one week I do not have to cross the border with to many purchases.  However, I have recently crossed with several hundred dollars at a time, all declared of course.  They have not even looked at me twice - "have a nice day" and I am on my way.

I am wondering if other frequent cross border travelers have noticed a similar trend.  Is this isolated to me because I cross the border at regular intervals and have received a low risk security clearance or is this a broader program to focus less on tax collections at the border and more on security issues?

Crossborder Shoppers Aid Hidalgo County

A recent article in Commercial Property News profiled Hidalgo County, Texas.  "Hidalgo is the poorest county in the country, with more than 250,000 people and 35 percent living below the poverty line.  But it is also home to one of the highest-grossing shopping malls, spurred by consumers from Mexico who cross the border.....Monthly sales were reported at $450 per square foot  - much higher than the national average of $392." 

It was reported in this article that Simon Property Group Inc. which already owns two malls in this area are planning a 600,000 square foot shopping center and a 400,000 square foot Premium Outlets upscale outlet. It was also pointed out that McAllen, Texas is the first major shopping point in the United States for consumers travelling from Mexico and it is such a popular area that it claims the No. 1 stores in the Dillard's, Denny's and Red Lobster chains.

This article really points out the power of crossborder shoppers to border town communities. Do these type of numbers correspond to U.S. border towns along the Canadian border?  I would assume that Canadian shoppers have greater selection within their own country than do Mexicans.  However, I would also assume that Canadians have a higher disposable income.  Even with the greater choices within Canada, there are different stores in the States and sometimes this variety can be enough to attract shoppers.  It would be interesting to see if studies have been done along the Canadian / U.S. border similar to this article about Texas and Mexico. There is currently planned a large lifestyle shopping center north of Ferndale, Washington less than 10 miles south of the Peace Arch crossing to British Columbia.  While this area of Washington is growing significantly, it does not appear that sufficient population within this area alone would support the center.  Therefore, the developers must be counting on a significant amount of crossborder Canadian shoppers into Whatcom county to support the retail stores.

Passport Requirement Delayed

The U.S. Senate voted this week to delay the passport requirement for travelers to the States from Western Hemisphere countries until June 1, 2009. This delay is an ammendment to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative that was originally indroduced as a Bill on April 5, 2005. This Bill still must be voted on, but at least if it is passed now the passport requirement won't be so immediate.  The reported reason for the delay was to test and immplement other procedures.  There has been some talk of creating a new travel card that could be used instead of a passport and would be less costly to acquire.  Perhaps they are wanting to research this option further.

Read more at:  Business Travel News