OVERVIEW

Citizens of Canada and the United States should be both proud and grateful for the fact that the border between their two nations has long had the reputation of being the world’s longest undefended border.  For many decades the Canadian and U.S. economies have been closely linked together with a steadily growing flow of goods and services in both directions.  However, the "hardening of the border" since September 11, 2001, has posed challenges to Canadian - U.S. trade.

National borders should be secure, but national economic health requires that border commerce not be impeded by security concerns. The Homeland Security and Canada-U.S. Border Trade: Implications for Public Policy and Business Strategy conference is designed to assess American and Canadian security perspectives as it relates to Canada-U.S. border trade, review existing efforts to “keep the border closed to terrorists and open for trade,” and identify economically and politically feasible public policy and private sector strategies to achieve a viable and sustainable balance between homeland security and economic security for both nations.   The conference sessions, for 120 business executives, government officials, and academics, will address bi-national dimensions of issues, identifying areas of both concordance and current or potential discord, and will seek to identify paths of further mutually beneficial cooperation. This forum for private sector-public sector exchange of ideas will serve to identify means of fully engaging the private sector in security efforts, initiate constructive policy action, and stimulate meaningful research.