The BTA committees are the source of our grassroots advocacy. The eight committees of the Border Trade Alliance tackle the issues facing the Canadian border and Mexican border trade communities. Our committees are comprised of BTA board members and experts in their respective fields.
Border Trade Alliance Committees are comprised of the following topics:
Agribusiness and Fisheries
Environment and Health
Import-Export Policies and Processes
Infrastructure
Travel & Immigration
The committees provide BTA participants an excellent forum to discuss and seek solutions to the challenges facing our borders.
Agribusiness & Fisheries Committee
The Agribusiness & Fisheries Committee works with agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Animal, Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in an effort to advocate for international trade policies friendly to the agricultural community. This committee also monitors regulations regarding bioterrorism that the agricultural import/export community must also confront.
Agribusiness and Fisheries Committee members login
Border Technology Committee
Description coming soon…
Border Technology Members login here.
Environment & Health Committee
The Environment & Health Committee works to generate support in the U.S. and Mexican Congresses for legislation that will improve the environment of the border region, and the health and healthcare available to its residents.
This includes supporting legislation that will allow the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) and the North American Development Bank (NADBank) to be more successful in addressing the environmental infrastructure needs of the U.S.-Mexico border communities.
The Environment & Health Committee, in collaboration with the Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy (SCERP), is involved in an ongoing analysis of the long-term relationship between growing border trade and commerce and environmental quality along the U.S.-Mexico border area through an annual Border Institute.
Environment and Health Committee members login
Import-Export Policies and Processes
The Import-Export Policies and Processes Committee (IEPP) was formed by the BTA board of directors in November 2003 to give the organization a focused approach to issues regarding the secure and efficient movement of cargo across the U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders. The committee was born out of the former Ports of Entry and Transportation Committees.
This committee examines issues relating to Free and Secure Trade (FAST), the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), and the International Trade Data System (ITDS).
Import-Export Committee members login
Infrastructure Committee
Historically, the focus of the BTA Infrastructure Committee’s advocacy efforts has been the actual bricks and mortar at our land border ports of entry. However, more recently, the Infrastructure Committee has become involved with the infrastructure needs of border communities as a whole, not just limited to the ports of entry.
The goal is to advocate for the necessary funding to improve the overall infrastructure of northern and southern border communities so that they may better process the cross border trade that passes through their communities.
Not only does the Infrastructure Committee advocate for funding for community and port of entry infrastructure projects, but they also work with the local communities to catalog their infrastructure needs and present these needs to the NAFTA governments.
Infrastructure Committee members login
Travel & Immigration Committee
The Travel & Immigration Committee focuses on the efficient and secure movement of people across the U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders. Issues of importance to this committee include US-VISIT, laser visa reform, and guest worker programs. This committee was formed in November 2003 by the BTA board of directors to ensure that the organization was properly focused on these emerging issues.
Travel & Immigration Committee members login
If you have any questions, or would like to join any of these committees, please contact the BTA Main Office.
