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 28th 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 |
