Beginning Nov. 24, commercial traffic from Canada will pay agricultural inspection fees at the U.S. border to cover costs to guard against the threats of pests, disease and bioterrorism, the Associated Press reported. Commercial trucks will pay $5.25 per crossing, or $105 for the year.
Graham Cooper, senior vice president of the Canadian Trucking Association, says the fees have been levied too liberally on commercial traffic, not all of which is carrying agricultural products across the border. The industry is taking its concerns about the fees to the Canadian government, according to the AP.
Melissa O’Dell, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Agriculture Department’s animal and plant health inspection service, says the surcharges have been around since the early 1990s, but Canada has been exempt until now.
