Canada’s trucking industry is taking issue with a U.S. Department of Agriculture plan to significantly raise fees charged by border inspectors with the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service who inspect trucks for pests – even though those trucks may not be carrying agricultural products. The plan would increase fees for trucks using a transponder from $105 to $320 annually while trucks not using a transponder would see the fee increase from $10.75 to $13.50 per crossing. David Bradley, President of the Canadian Trucking Association told AJOT that while the association believes the U.S. Government has every right to protect its food supply, agricultural industries and communities from insects and pests that might be imported together with food products it objects to the fact that truckers may be asked to pay for the program. The association believes the plan does not comply with NAFTA or GATT rulings and is effectively a tax on trade, an opinion Bradley said the Canadian Government agrees with. “It’s incumbent of the United States to honor it’s international obligations; that’s why we enter into international agreements like NAFTA and GATT. “We spend all this time entering into border accords, beyond borders action plans and all of this stuff, and most of this has been focused between U.S. and Canadian customs officials. We’ve seen the introduction of automated borders, risk management systems and trusted trader programs none of which exists in what the USDA is looking at and runs counter to what our Prime Minister and President Obama have said is the purpose of the Beyond Borders Accord,” he said.