RESOLUTION

Ref: 850-093/008

28th Annual Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers
Groton, Connecticut - September 8, 2003

RESOLUTION 28-5

RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON
TRADE AND GLOBALIZATION

WHEREAS, the Standing Committee on Trade and Globalization was established with a mandate to examine and make recommendations regarding issues, opportunities, and constraints related to trade and globalization relative to New England and Eastern Canada; and

WHEREAS, the level of trade between jurisdictions is affected by the interaction of factors such as the legal and policy environment, transportation and communication infrastructure, technological environment, and trade development initiatives; and

WHEREAS, Resolution 27-1 of the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Conference held in Québec City, in August 2002, directed the Standing Committee on Trade and Globalization to continue its efforts to facilitate and expand trade within the Northeast region; and

WHEREAS, also as directed under Resolution 27-1, the Committee has developed a framework for establishing direct, ongoing and informal communication among state and provincial trade representatives for the purpose of resolving potential trade disputes through an early exchange of information and perspectives that reflect the interests of the business community intent upon increasing trade within the region; and

WHEREAS, strategic transportation infrastructure development and inter-jurisdictional coordination opportunities have also been identified in other forums such as the Council of Atlantic Premiers, the Annual Conference of New England Governors, the Eastern Border Transportation Coalition, the I-95 Corridor Coalition and the Transportation Border Working Group as well as in many transportation studies recently conducted in the region; and

WHEREAS, the Committee has made progress and continues to pursue opportunities for cooperation in the trade-impacting areas of border efficiency and security, regulatory harmonization of transportation, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and trade corridor development such as the work of the I-95 Corridor Coalition.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers reaffirms its support for the work of the Standing Committee on Trade and Globalization;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Conference direct the Standing Committee on Trade and Globalization to continue its work to improve and increase cross-border trade by taking actions in the following areas: update, refine and implement a trade development action plan reflecting key business interests in the region; investigate and report back to the Conference regarding the feasibility of establishing a reciprocal cross-border certification process for professional engineers; facilitate better collaboration between border agencies and transportation planning officials in the development of border infrastructures; promote the case for standardized and compatible Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies and accelerated deployment of customs clearance and pre-clearance initiatives such as the NEXUS and FAST cross-border control systems;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Conference direct the Standing Committee on Trade and Globalization to further the work of the NASTO Freight Services and Investment Study by identifying and documenting the type, extent, and limitations of existing freight data available to states and provinces in their jurisdiction and to develop strategies to fill existing freight data gaps;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Conference direct the Standing Committee on Trade and Globalization to coordinate the inter-jurisdictional interests in the planning and design of their own ITS technologies within the Commercial Vehicle Information System and Network (CVISN) program in order to enhance the efficiency of commercial vehicle safety enforcement in the region;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Conference direct the Standing Committee on Trade and Globalization through the Transportation Working Group to enter into discussions with trucking regulation officials from member states and provinces as well as the US Federal Highway Administration to further pursue the feasibility of adopting common trucking policies and harmonized trucking regulations that would improve the movement of freight (i.e., Atlantic Provinces Discussion Paper: Atlantic Regional Special Permits - Proposed Conditions for Movement of Overdimensional Indivisible Vehicles and Loads); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Conference direct the Standing Committee on Trade and Globalization to promote common understanding, regional positions and resolution or air transportation issues between jurisdictions and their stakeholders; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers support New Brunswick’s effort to convene a special Border Security and Open Trade Conference in 2004 with representatives of interested eastern Canadian provinces, New England states, regional exporters and manufacturers and their respective federal governments; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Conference direct the Standing Committee on Trade and Globalization report on its progress on these and related issues at the 29th Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers.

Adopted at the 28^th Annual Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers, September 7-9, 2003.

_________________________________________ John G. Rowland Governor of Connecticut Co-chair

_________________________________________ Bernard Lord Premier of New Brunswick Co-chair

 

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